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.
Trump administration officials have claimed that they are saving Americans over $1.3 trillion by ending regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. But the figure does not incorporate any benefits of the emissions standards. By one of the Environmental Protection Agency’s own calculations, getting rid of the standards could cost billions.
The Food and Drug Administration on March 10 changed the approval for a version of the prescription drug leucovorin to include people with a very rare genetic condition. FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary had previously implied that the drug’s new label would cover a much broader group of people with autism, saying that “hundreds of thousands of kids” would benefit.
During her confirmation hearing to become surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means had various back-and-forths with senators, who pressed her on topics related to vaccines, her qualifications and disclosure of her conflicts of interest. We looked into the sometimes-dueling claims from Means and the senators.
President Donald Trump has said that Americans are now paying or will pay “the lowest price anywhere in the world for drugs,” thanks to the administration’s negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. The administration has announced discounted cash prices for a small number of brand-name drugs. There isn’t evidence Trump’s deals so far have led to broad decreases in drug prices, nor is it certain they will in the future.
As the U.S. formally exited from the World Health Organization last month, Trump administration officials misleadingly claimed that the WHO “pushed” or “promoted” lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group did not explicitly recommend lockdowns, although it also did not advise countries not to implement them. It said it recognized that the measures might be needed in some cases.
In unveiling new dietary guidelines, federal health officials have claimed they are correcting past guidance that created a “generation of kids low in protein” and that Americans should get “dramatically” more of the nutrient. While some individuals may benefit from more protein, Americans are not generally protein-deficient.
President Donald Trump has said on multiple occasions in recent months that he takes a “large” dose of aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease. His comments could perpetuate a common misperception, so we wanted to clarify the current science and what the recommendations are.
In sweeping changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer recommends universal vaccination against six diseases. In justifying the move, health officials made misleading claims about vaccine safety while downplaying or omitting benefits.
Many doctors agree with the Food and Drug Administration’s recent decision to remove the black box warnings on at least some forms of hormone therapy used to treat the symptoms of menopause. But in making the announcement, health officials misleadingly suggested that women could take the drugs for long-term benefits to the heart and brain. Menopausal hormone therapy is not currently recommended for those uses.
Echoing a longstanding anti-vaccine trope, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the American vaccine schedule “long required” babies to get “far more” vaccines than are given in “any other” country, and he directed health officials to better “align” practices with those of other countries. The recommended schedule in the U.S. is quite similar to that of other high-income nations, and it isn’t a federal mandate.