White House MAHA Report Marred by AI-Generated Fake Citations and Errors
12 Sources
[1]
Trump officials downplay fake citations in high-profile report on children's health
References to phantom studies comes after White House pledge to practice "gold standard" science The White House is downplaying major citation errors in a sweeping report on chronic disease in children released last week by the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission. The report, spearheaded
[2]
RFK Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' report seems riddled with AI slop
Jess Weatherbed is a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews. There are some questionable sources underpinning Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s controversial "Make America Healthy Again" commission
[3]
White House Health Report Included Fake Citations
Sign up for the Well newsletter, for Times subscribers only. Essential news and guidance to live your healthiest life. Try it for 4 weeks. The Trump administration released a report last week that it billed as a "clear, evidence-based foundation" for action on a range of children's health
[4]
White House MAHA Report may have garbled science by using AI, experts say
The report, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was intended to address the reasons for the decline in Americans' life expectancy. Some of the citations that underpin the science in the White House's sweeping "MAHA Report" appear to have been generated using
[5]
The MAHA Report's AI fingerprints, annotated
The White House's "Make America Healthy Again" report, which issued a dire warning about the forces responsible for Americans' declining life expectancy, bears hallmarks of the use of artificial intelligence in its citations. That appears to have garbled citations and invented studies that underpin
[6]
RFK Jr's "Make America Healthy Again" Report Cites Studies That Don't Exist, in Clear Sign of AI Generated Slop
Last week, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released a controversial "Make America Healthy Again" Commission report. The report was already criticized for blaming the decline in Americans' health woes on discredited scapegoats such as cell phone radiation and the "overmedicalization of
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The AI Slop Scandal Around the MAHA Report Is Getting Worse
It came to light this week that a new government report from the "Make America Healthy Again" Commission led by Robert F Kennedy Jr. contained botched citations for scientific papers that didn't exist. This is almost certainly a sign that some form of generative AI was involved to draft a very
[8]
Trump admin corrects RFK Jr.'s MAHA report after citation errors
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images The Trump administration on Thursday corrected several citations in its "Make America Healthy Again" report, adding to scrutiny of its scientific rigor. The report, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy
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White House blames 'formatting' for errors in RFK Jr.'s MAHA report. Authors push back.
President Donald Trump attended the "Make America Healthy Again" event where the MAHA commission released its report. Citation errors and phantom research used as scientific evidence to bolster Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s landmark "Make America Healthy Again" commission report were
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Did RFK Jr.'s Crew Use AI to Write Error-Filled MAHA Report?
Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted the findings of the 73-page report from the presidential commission to Make America Healthy Again that assessed the root causes of chronic disease in children. The report laid the blame for the crisis on numerous factors
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RFK Jr.'s Disastrous MAHA Report Seems to Have Been Written Using AI
A report on children's health from Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" commission referenced fake research and misinterpreted studies to support their agenda. It also included citation errors, like crediting the wrong author on a study. To make things worse, the
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Trump administration 'MAHA' health report cited nonexistent studies
(Reuters) - A highly-publicized U.S. government report on the health of American children referenced scientific studies that did not exist among citations to support its conclusions in what the White House said were "formatting issues" on Thursday. The report produced by the Make America Healthy
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The Trump administration's "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) report on children's health has come under scrutiny for containing numerous citation errors, including fake studies and mischaracterized findings, possibly due to the use of AI.
MAHA Report Controversy Unfolds
The Trump administration's "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) Commission report, spearheaded by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has come under intense scrutiny following the discovery of numerous citation errors and fake studies
1
. The report, initially touted as an example of "radical transparency" and "gold standard" science, now faces questions about its scientific integrity and the potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) in its creation.
Source: USA Today
Citation Errors and Fake Studies
Investigations by multiple news outlets, including NOTUS, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, have revealed a range of issues within the report's citations
2
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. These include:- Nonexistent studies
- Mischaracterized research findings
- Incorrect author attributions
- Broken links and formatting errors
For instance, epidemiologist Katherine Keyes was listed as the author of a study on anxiety and adolescents that she confirmed does not exist
1
.Evidence of AI Usage
Several indicators suggest that AI, particularly ChatGPT, may have been used in creating the report:
Source: Rolling Stone
- The presence of "oaicite" markers in some URLs, a known indicator of OpenAI's involvement
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. - Repetitive content and inaccuracies characteristic of AI-generated text
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. - "Hallucinated" or invented studies, a common issue with generative AI
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.
White House Response
The White House has attempted to downplay the controversy:
- Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the errors as "formatting issues"
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. - HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon stated that "minor citation and formatting errors have been corrected" but insisted that the substance of the report remains unchanged
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.
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Implications and Criticisms
The discovery of these errors has raised concerns about the report's credibility and the administration's commitment to scientific rigor:
- Art Caplan, a bioethicist at NYU, called the inclusion of fake citations "inexcusable"
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. - Ivan Oransky, co-founder of Retraction Watch, noted that the errors are characteristic of AI usage and reflect a lack of proper verification
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. - Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, suggested that the report "should be junked" and cannot be used for policymaking
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.
Source: NBC
Ongoing Updates and Revisions
In response to the growing controversy, the White House has been continuously updating the report:
- An updated version was published with some fictitious citations replaced
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. - References to "corrected hyperlinks" and some "oaicite" markers were removed
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.
As the situation continues to unfold, questions remain about the report's creation process, the extent of AI involvement, and the implications for science-based policymaking in the Trump administration.
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