MAHA report includes citing errors, studies that do not exist
The “Make America Healthy Again” report, which was released on May 22, made waves among agriculture groups. Now, new information has surfaced that the MAHA report, which was a 72-page document focusing on the factors that could be contributing to childhood illness, should have been proofread.
According to other news sources, such as The Hill, the report included several citation errors, references to studies that do not exist, and data that does not necessarily back up the claims made in the report. Some of the citations are even believed to have been generated by artificial intelligence.
Apart from citing inaccurate sources, the authors of the document are also accused of misrepresenting the information used in the report or stretching the data to make it fit their narrative. Agricultural groups believe this was the case particularly for the information related to chemical use in agricultural practices.
“We have products that we know have been around 50 years have been registered and re-registered and been through study after study over time,” said Tim Lust, CEO of National Sorghum Producers. “We just want to make sure that sound science is heard and that we’re able to continue to move forward with what we know are products that have been through the rigors of all the scientific processes.”
The White House staff and members of the Health and Human Services department downplayed the errors, saying the flaws were only in the citations, not in the actual data used to support the claims made in the report. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt referred to the mistakes as “formatting issues” that do not contradict the substance of the report. The incorrect citations in the document have since been updated on the MAHA website.
To many, these flaws in the documentation of sources call the accuracy of the rest of the report into question. Agricultural groups are protesting many of the claims made along with the data used to bolster them. They hope to correct misleading information in the report and influence the MAHA Commission’s recommendations on agricultural practices. Those recommendations are expected to be announced on Aug. 12.
Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].
