WH says citation errors in RFK Jr's 'Make America Healthy Again' report result of formatting issues

Researchers say citations in the Trump-requested "Make America Healthy Again" report list studies they never authored, according to news reports Thursday. 

The report, released last week by the MAHA Commission and led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., focused on such concerns as processed foods, the over-prescription of pharmaceuticals and Americans' lack of physical activity.

Dr. Katherine Keyes, who is listed as the first author of a paper on rates of depression and anxiety among teens during the COVID-19 pandemic, told the outlets NOTUS and ABC News that she never wrote the study. 

"I was surprised to see what seemed to be an error in the citation of my work in the report, and it does make me concerned given that citation practices are an important part of conducting and reporting rigorous science," Keyes told ABC News.

Keyes studies mental health and substance abuse, but said a paper on such matters, listed on page 52 of the report, does not exist. The study was also allegedly published in the JAMA Pediatrics medical journal, which told ABC News that the paper does not exist.

The report also lists two studies in its section on direct-to-consumer advertisements that previously claimed certain ads "led parents to overestimate ADHD prevalence and to request ADHD drugs inappropriately." But NOTUS reported the studies do not exist. 

The outlet also said the author of one of the studies said he never wrote the article.

The White House said the citation mistakes were formatting errors, and HHS said the "minor citation" errors have been fixed. 

"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," agency spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.