Latest news with #healthreport
CTV News
18 hours ago
- Health
- CTV News
2 more measles cases in Edmonton
Edmonton Watch Alberta Health reported two new cases of measles in Edmonton over the weekend.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK Jr's ‘Maha' report found to contain citations to nonexistent studies
Robert F Kennedy Jr's flagship health commission report contains citations to studies that do not exist, according to an investigation by the US publication Notus. The report exposes glaring scientific failures from a health secretary who earlier this week threatened to ban government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals. The 73-page 'Make America healthy again' report – which was commissioned by the Trump administration to examine the causes of chronic illness, and which Kennedy promoted it as 'gold-standard' science backed by more than 500 citations – includes references to seven studies that appear to be entirely invented, and others that the researchers say have been mischaracterized. Related: Key takeaways: RFK Jr's 'Maha' report on chronic disease in children Two supposed studies on ADHD medication advertising simply do not exist in the journals where they are claimed to be published. Virginia Commonwealth University confirmed to Notus that researcher Robert L Findling, listed as an author of one paper, never wrote such an article, while another citation leads only to the Kennedy report itself when searched online. Harold J Farber, a pediatric specialist supposedly behind research on asthma overprescribing, told Notus he never wrote the cited paper and had never worked with the other listed authors. The US Department of Health and Human Services has not immediately responded to a Guardian request for comment. The citation failures come as Kennedy, a noted skeptic of vaccines, criticized medical publishing this week, branding top journals the Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine and Jama as 'corrupt' and alleging they were controlled by pharmaceutical companies. He outlined plans for creating government-run journals instead. Beyond the phantom studies in Kennedy's report, Notus found it systematically misrepresented existing research. Related: RFK's health report omits key facts in painting dark vision for US children For example, one paper was claimed to show that talking therapy was as effective as psychiatric medication, but the statistician Joanne McKenzie said this was impossible, as 'we did not include psychotherapy' in the review. The sleep researcher Mariana G Figueiro also said her study was mischaracterized, with the report incorrectly stating it involved children rather than college students, and citing the wrong journal entirely. The Trump administration asked Kennedy for the report in order to look at chronic illness causes, from pesticides to mobile phone radiation. Kennedy called it a 'milestone' that provides 'evidence-based foundation' for sweeping policy changes. A follow-up 'Make our children healthy again strategy' report is due in August, raising concerns about the scientific credibility underpinning the administration's health agenda.
Washington Post
03-06-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
You are hardwired to blindly trust AI. Here's how to fight it.
Two newspapers recently published summer reading recommendations that included made-up books. The list was created using artificial intelligence chatbots. The Washington Post identified in recent days telltale signs of AI in a White House health report that cited nonexistent research. And attorneys keep getting scolded for using AI that generates bogus legal research in court filings.
The Verge
30-05-2025
- Health
- The Verge
RFK Jr.'s ‘Make America Healthy Again' report seems riddled with AI slop
There are some questionable sources underpinning Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s controversial 'Make America Healthy Again' commission report. Signs point to AI tomfoolery, and the use of ChatGPT specifically, which calls into question the veracity of the White House report meant to address reasons for the decline in US life expectancy. An investigation by NOTUS found dozens of errors in the MAHA report, including broken links, wrong issue numbers, and missing or incorrect authors. Some studies were misstated to back up the report's conclusions or, more damningly, didn't exist at all. At least seven of the cited sources were entirely fictitious, according to NOTUS. Another investigation by The Washington Post found that at least 37 of the 522 citations appeared multiple times throughout the report. Notably, the URLs of several references included 'oaicite,' a marker that OpenAI applies to responses provided by artificial intelligence models like ChatGPT, which strongly suggests it was used in developing the report. Generative AI tools have a tendency to spit out false or incorrect information, known as 'hallucinations.' That would certainly explain the various errors throughout the report — chatbots have been found responsible for similar citation issues in legal filings submitted by AI experts and even the companies building the models. Nevertheless, RFK Jr. has long advocated for the 'AI revolution,' and announced during a House committee meeting in May that 'we are already using these new technologies to manage health care data more efficiently and securely.' In a briefing on Thursday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to concerns about the accuracy of the citations while evading any mention of AI tools. Leavitt described the errors as 'formatting issues' and defended the health report for being 'backed on good science that has never been recognized by the federal government.' The Washington Post notes that the MAHA report file was updated on Thursday to remove some of the oaicite markers and replace some of the nonexistent sources with alternative citations. In a statement given to the publication, Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon said 'minor citation and formatting errors have been corrected, but the substance of the MAHA report remains the same — a historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation's children.'
Daily Mail
30-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
RFK Jr. faces AI scandal after allegedly using ChatGPT for MAHA report
The stunning appearance of multiple citation errors in Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' report could be due to the sloppy use of Artificial Intelligence, according to experts and telltale indicators. The White House and the Health and Human Services Department were forced to respond Thursday to a bombshell report that identified multiple citations to academic articles buried within the report that did not actually exist. Some of the errors appeared to carry hallmarks of generative AI which users have found is designed to provide an authoritative sounding answer when producing copy as it scrapes the internet for content and information. Some references contain 'oaicite', which is indicative of the use of OpenAI , in their URLs. The citation errors were confirmed by human beings who either said they didn't write some of the studies listed, or that their work relating to the health issues at hand came in other formats and publications. Some said interpretations of their data were also incorrect. 'The paper cited is not a real paper that I or my colleagues were involved with,' epidemiologist Katherine Keyes told NOTUS , which exposed many of the lapses. The feds have since purged seven citations from the report, which Kennedy released with much fanfare days ago. Another academic whose work got cited, Mariana G. Figueiro, told the publication: 'The conclusions in the report are not accurate and the journal reference is incorrect. It was not published in Pediatrics. Also, the study was not done in children, but in college students.' Thirty-seven of the report's citations occur multiple times, according to the Washington Post . 'Frankly, that's shoddy work,' Oren Etzioni, an AI expert at the University of Washington told the paper. 'We deserve better.' At the White House Thursday, a reporter asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt directly if Kennedy and his team of cabinet members who compiled the report relied on AI. 'I can't speak to that. I would refer you to the Department of Health and Human Services. What I know is just what I told you,' she responded. 'We have complete confidence in Secretary Kennedy and his team at HHS,' she said, when asked about the reports that unearthed the fake references. 'I understand there was some formatting issues with the MAHA report that are being addressed and the report will be updated,' she said. 'But it does not negate the substance of the report, which, as you know, is one of the most transformative health reports that has ever been released by the federal government is and is backed on good science that has never been recognized by the federal government. RFK, Jr., who has already drawn controversy for sowing doubts about vaccines and other views, gushed about the report before its release, which came after his team had a single public meeting. 'The report is the product of a consensual process, and it represents a collaborative effort of all the agencies and the White House. And it represents a consensus that is probably the strongest and most radical consensus by a government agency in history about the state of America's health,' he said. 'MAHA's become hot,' President Trump said of RFK, Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' push. Before its release some farm state Republican lawmakers had raised concerns that the MAHA report would go after pesticides and farm practices they consider critical for farm efficiency. The report calls to examine the 'over-utilization of medication' such as steroids and questions the childhood vaccine schedule. But the author identified with a study showing a jump in use of corticosteroids 'denied writing it,' according to NOTUS, and called the conclusion an 'overgeneralization' of his other findings. The number of errors mushroomed this week as more outsiders picked at the purported data. Psychiatry Professor Robert L. Findling didn't write the report attributed to him on 'Direct-to-consumer advertising of psychotropic medications for youth: A growing concern.' Teeing off on the revelations was Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington. 'What do you know? Secretary released areport with made-up sources,' she said, attaching emojis for a brain and a worm. 'This fully discredits the MAHA Commission report. RFK Jr. is a deranged conspiracy theorist, so no one should be surprised by his lies, but we should still call them out,' she wrote.
