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SciCheck

FactCheck.org’s SciCheck feature focuses exclusively on false and misleading scientific claims that are made by partisans to influence public policy. It was launched in January 2015 with a grant from the Stanton Foundation. The foundation was founded by the late Frank Stanton, president of CBS for 25 years, from 1946 to 1971.

RFK Jr.’s New Vaccine Panel Casts Doubt on Hepatitis B Shot at Birth

RFK Jr.’s New Vaccine Panel Casts Doubt on Hepatitis B Shot at Birth
June 26, 2025

The chair of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newly constituted vaccine advisory committee announced in his first meeting that the panel will revisit the longstanding practice of vaccinating all babies against hepatitis B, questioning whether it was “wise” to administer shots “to every newborn before leaving the hospital.” Experts, however, say there are valid reasons to vaccinate babies against hepatitis B, and that it has proven to be safe and very effective.

RFK Jr.’s Flawed Justifications for ‘Clean Sweep’ of CDC Vaccine Advisory Panel

RFK Jr.’s Flawed Justifications for ‘Clean Sweep’ of CDC Vaccine Advisory Panel
June 18, 2025

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel, claiming it “has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.” But there’s no evidence of problematic conflicts of interest or that the group inadequately scrutinizes vaccines.

Q&A on New COVID-19 Vaccine Policies

Q&A on New COVID-19 Vaccine Policies
June 5, 2025

In the past two weeks, U.S. public health authorities have skirted normal procedures and announced two major policy changes that will likely reduce access to COVID-19 vaccines and restrict use to higher-risk populations. Here, we explain what we know — and don’t — about these new COVID-19 vaccine policies.

RFK Jr. Denies Cuts to Scientific Research While Slashing Staff, Funding

RFK Jr. Denies Cuts to Scientific Research While Slashing Staff, Funding
May 29, 2025

Under the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services has canceled or frozen billions of dollars in scientific research grants and attempted to cull around 20,000 agency employees, including some scientists. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., however, has misleadingly claimed that there have been no cuts to “life-saving” research or “working scientists.”

Trump Administration Incorrectly Claims Certainty About Origin of Coronavirus

Trump Administration Incorrectly Claims Certainty About Origin of Coronavirus
May 23, 2025

Since regaining power in January, the Trump administration has repeatedly claimed with false certainty that the COVID-19 pandemic originated in a lab. But there isn’t clear evidence that the virus came from a lab. A new government website promoting the claim also gets some basic facts wrong.

Trump, Allies Spread Unfounded Claims About Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis

Trump, Allies Spread Unfounded Claims About Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis
May 22, 2025

Former President Joe Biden’s office announced on May 18 that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer two days earlier, following the discovery of a prostate nodule. President Donald Trump and others have suggested, without evidence, that Biden’s diagnosis had been known much earlier and hidden from the public. 

RFK Jr.’s Misleading Line on the Chickenpox Vaccine

RFK Jr.’s Misleading Line on the Chickenpox Vaccine
May 16, 2025

Speaking before Congress, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. misleadingly claimed that Europe doesn’t vaccinate children against chickenpox because a study shows that when you do, “you get shingles in older people.” While that is a theoretical concern, studies have not borne that out — and parts of Europe do vaccinate kids.

Q&A on Trump’s Prescription Drug Pricing Executive Order

Q&A on Trump’s Prescription Drug Pricing Executive Order
May 15, 2025

In signing an executive order aimed at reducing U.S. drug prices, President Donald Trump said some prices would be cut in half or more “almost immediately.” But the order is light on details of how the plan would be implemented.