White House defends MAHA report amid criticism over citation errors, fake sources and AI-generated content

Citation errors and untraceable research have reportedly been found in Robert Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report, which claims to be a groundbreaking, comprehensive health and wellness policy based on sound science.

But the White House has rebuked claims that the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) MAHA report — which details chronic disease in children — misinterprets some studies and cites others that don’t exist.

Reports first emerged in Notus claiming the 73-page MAHA report contains errors. The publication says it even spoke with some of the authors listed in the report who said that, in fact, they shouldn’t have been included or their work has been misrepresented.

Some media outlets say they have spoken to some of the listed authors, who say they didn’t write the studies cited.

The Notus investigation also highlights a series of other errors in the report’s bibliography, such as broken links, missing or incorrect authors, and incorrect issue numbers.

The MAHA report, released last month, addresses “key drivers” of childhood chronic disease. The document cites a link between the rise of ultra-processed foods and adverse health outcomes in children, among other factors.

Garbled or groundbreaking?

Kennedy’s flagship health commission report has been making waves since its release last month when the US government championed “gold standard” science, demonstrating how transparent government policy is under his leadership. 

It targets a series of issues affecting children’s health in the US, including challenging ultra-processed foods and pesticides, prescription drugs, and more. 

One of the most prominent examples of this in an F&B context is the recent announcement that the FDA and HHS plan to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the US food supply. 

But now, the credibility of the MAHA report’s content is being questioned amid claims that parts of it showed signs of having been AI-generated.

This prompted questions from the press during a recent briefing with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who was asked directly about the report and cited studies that appear not to exist.

Leavitte played down the errors as “formatting issues” and stressed these claims do not undermine trust in Kennedy’s department. 

“We have complete confidence in Secretary Kennedy and his team at HHS. I understand that there were some formatting issues with the MAHA report that are being addressed, and the report will be updated.”

“But it does not negate the substance of the report, which is one of the most transformative health reports that has ever been released by the federal government and is backed by good science that has never been recognized by the federal government.”

She is then asked if AI has been used in the MAHA report but says she “can’t speak to that.” 

Following the initial exposure of errors in the MAHA report, an updated version has been published on the White House website. Several of the errors pointed out by Notus are understood to have been changed with new references. 

Meanwhile, debate has been escalating about how much AI may have been used to put together the MAHA report.