Voices of Public Health

A Product of The Coalition for Health Resilience

Top 10 Misinformation Moments from RFK Jr.

Recently there have been twisted facts and false claims  about health in the United States. With the rise of the wellness influencer, the biohacker, and the liver king, we live in a time where it can be hard to know what to believe about our health. Usually we would turn to government agencies like the FDA (Food and Drug Association), or the HHS (Health and Human Services) to provide correct and reliable information. 

However, mistrust around institutions is also on the rise, and now, the director of the HHS is one of the major sources of the spread of health misinformation. Robert F. Kennedy Junior, or RFK,  is the Trump administration’s appointee to the critical role of Secretary of Health. Many of us know RFK already as an environmental lawyer, not a doctor, and someone very  familiar with conspiracy theories and problematic views on anything ranging from race to milk pasteurization. 

Recently he told Congress ‘I don’t think people should take medical advice from me’. But he’s the nation’s top health authority, so people will be listening closely, even when the facts are wrong.

Let’s talk about his top 10 pieces of misinformation, and the real public health impact that these complex issues have, especially when over-simplified. 

  1. Raw milk 
    • The Claim: RFK says that raw milk, meaning unpasteurized milk straight from the udder, is not only safe, but better for us, saying that it “advances human health”. 
    • The Truth: The milk we buy at the grocery store is pasteurized. That means it goes through a process where the milk is heated to kill bacteria like salmonella, e. coli, listeria, not to mention the bacteria that cause TB. Pasteurization has saved many lives, and has been used in the US since the 1890s. The pasteurization process doesn’t reduce the nutritional value of milk, which is a common, but wrong, theory. 
  2. Autism is caused by vaccines (Read one of our blog posts on this topic here)
    • The Claim: While RFK has made many confusing and incorrect statements on this topic, the most common is that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism in children. 
    • The Truth: There are many problems with this statement. Not only is it scientifically false, but it also suggests that autistic people are not as good or valuable as others. However, there is no evidence to suggest that MMR or other vaccines, mercury, or pesticides cause autism. While there is still a lot left to understand, it is currently believed that there is a largely genetic, and possibly environmental origin to autism. Most importantly, the MMR vaccine is a key part of childhood vaccination, preventing serious illness and death. 
  1. Fluoride causes IQ loss and bone cancer
    • The Claim: RFK is moving forward with removing fluoride from all United States water systems, based on the belief that it causes “arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease”. 
    • The Truth: Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that is good for dental health, since it prevents tooth decay. Simply having it in the water prevents 25%+ of tooth decay, saves money, and reduces the loss of work and school time to dental visits by millions of hours every year. The amounts added to the US water system are safe with no side effects. 
  1. Over-consumption of antidepressants causes mass shootings
    • The Claim: A common conspiracy theory that RFK frequently repeats is that antidepressant use, such as Prozac, has increased the number of mass shootings, especially in schools. 
    • The Truth: Simply put, the majority of school shooters and mass shooters were not prescribed any anti-depressants, and there is no evidence to back this claim. Antidepressants help  with symptoms of depression by allowing people to feel emotionally stable and reducing or preventing chronic symptoms that can make day-to-day life challenging.  
  1. Cellphone tumors and blood-brain toxins
    • The Claim: RFK has repeatedly claimed that cellphones cause cancer, and “open the blood brain barrier” to toxins.
    • The Truth: There is no evidence to back these claims. RFK often discusses this when talking about school age children, and while there is evidence to show the impact of cellphone use on learning, mental health, and attention, there is no evidence that indicates an impact on cancer (or on the blood brain barrier). 
  1. COVID-19 targets Caucasians and Black people
    • The Claim: RFK has claimed that the COVID-19 virus makes choices based on race. He has claimed that the disease specifically focuses on the White and Black population but that “Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese” are the most immune. 
    • The Truth: Getting sick with COVID-19 is determined mostly by age, health, and vaccination status. Thes false claims, and the way RFK talks about people contributes to antisemitism and anti-Asian racism. 
  1. AIDs isn’t caused by HIV
    • The Claim: Robert does not believe that AIDS  is caused by HIV, preferring to guess that it is caused by the environment, and recreational drug use amongst men who have sex with men. 
    • The Truth: There is no other way to put it- HIV causes AIDs. In short, HIV makes the body unable to fight infection, which leads to AIDs (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Amongst other issues, this misinformation spreads homophobia, and risks eliminating important funding and research on prevention and treatment of HIV. Also important is that anyone can become infected by HIV, and this misinformation may lead people to believe they will be safe from the disease when they are not. 
  1. Measles cured by cod-liver oil and vitamin A (Read another of our blog posts about this here)
    • The Claim: After recent outbreaks of measles (maybe caused by misinformation about the MMR vaccine?) RFK has claimed that the deadly childhood disease can be treated with vitamin A and a healthy spoonful of cod-liver oil. 
    • The Truth: Measles is highly infectious and dangerous. 9 of 10 people exposed to the disease will become infected, and 3 of every 1,000 will die. Serious illness and death are both completely preventable. Vitamin A and cod-liver oil do not treat or prevent the disease. The vaccine is the only way to protect against measles.
  1. Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19
    • The Claim: As part of his anti-vax misinformation, RFK continues to claim that these two medications are effective treatments for COVID-19.   
    • The Truth: These claims have been repeatedly disproven.  Both drugs are effective treatments for some diseases, but have no impact on COVID. The only effective treatment for COVID-19 so far are antiviral medications such as Paxlovid. This misinformation contributes to vaccine hesitancy, illness, and death. 
  1. Exposure to pesticide Atrazine contributes to gender dysphoria in children
    • The Claim: RFK, and others such as Jordan Peterson have made the claim that environmental factors such as chemicals or pesticides are the source of youth who are experiencing gender dysphoria, or who identify as transgender. 
    • The Truth: Not only is there no evidence to back this up, but the majority of people have never been exposed to Atrazine. This misinformation contributes to transphobia and weakens the idea that individuals have the capacity to reasonably identify as a different sex or gender then the one that they were born with. If you want to learn more about gender dysphoria or gender affirming care, check out our other blog. 

This misinformation, misleading claims, and flat-out discrimination, are incredibly harmful, especially for vulnerable people. We owe these people, children, parents, Americans, the right to exist in health and safety, as all humans deserve. When it comes to RFK, and HHS, there is a duty to provide health services to all humans, without discrimination or misinformation.