President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claims on a potential link between Tylenol in pregnancy and a rise in autism diagnoses is dangerous and causes public distrust and damages trust in science.
Their statements completely contradict long-standing FDA confirmation that Tylenol is one of the safest painkillers for pregnant women, along with many studies that prove its low risks.
By elevating such an unsubstantiated claim on the national stage, the administration’s misinformation spreads further through the spectacle it creates. This is not only baseless, but also reckless and dangerously erodes trust in public health.
When misinformation is amplified by people in power, conspiracy theories are given false legitimacy. This distortion widens a divide between those who rely on scientific guidance and those who are misled by false rhetoric. Trump’s weaponization of authority manipulates public health into a tool for political gain.
The FDA followed the press conference stating they would edit the safety labeling of acetaminophen (Tylenol & other brands) to point out possible evidence linking usage during pregnancy to autism and other neurodevelopment outcomes. However, they cautioned this label saying there are studies that disprove this link.
By abiding by the administration’s command despite knowing about conflicting information, it is clear such political manipulation not only creates fear among the population, but also major institutions. This fear deepens distrust in the health authorities society usually relies on to provide truth.
When positions of power are misused to push unverified claims, trusted institutions lose credibility and spark further confusion. As a result, the public fails to distinguish between facts and fearmongering, and society is left susceptible to misinformation. This is part of a larger pattern of pseudoscience promoted by the MAHA movement that weakens trust in health experts.
The Trump administration’s statements on Tylenol come during a wave of false claims relating to public health from RFK Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement.
RFK Jr. has loosened requirements on fluoridated water and has blamed synthetic dyes in food for “poisoning our kids.” Like the Tylenol claim, this has caused doubt among the public rather than relying on verified data.
This movement builds upon the MAHA commission’s promise of reforming America’s health, science and food systems to “identify the root cause of the chronic disease epidemic and make America healthy again,” according to the Health and Human Services website.
RFK Jr. himself long publicly doubted the safety and reliability of vaccines, despite the scientific consensus around their effectiveness. His views gathered a loyal following that took his skepticism as factual insight.
Many followers of the MAHA movement spoke out against the Tylenol claim, such as Alex Jones of Infowars, who called it a possible “cover for Bill Gates and Big Pharma.”
The right wing spread of misinformation has reached a threshold where its biggest mouthpieces are now turning on each other over whose lies are more credible. Navigating frequent and conflicting misinformation can make the search for truth even more difficult.
Despite pushback from within the MAGA movement, communicating a conspiracy through a White House press conference created headlines and a political spectacle out of unsupported facts. Framing their claim as truth through a high-profile event made it incredibly difficult for pregnant women and the general public to distinguish fear mongering from facts.
Trump’s press conference and the false claims peddled by him and RFK Jr. have struck unnecessary fear into pregnant women, who now risk losing one of the few painkillers deemed safe for them.
This press conference was yet another dangerous misuse of power on behalf of the president after many other oversteps of presidential power, such as sending the National Guard to major cities like Chicago and Washington D.C.
As this administration has shown repeatedly, when those in power are not held accountable, authority becomes a weapon that even overrides state power and scientific facts.
The administration’s Tylenol claim was yet another example of abusing power and spreading misinformation. By amplifying such a false claim, science has become a political tool used to garner fear. When politicians exploit their authority and manipulate the truth, public trust in our legislative leaders erodes, forcing people to question who truly has the public interest in mind and who wishes to serve themselves.
Antonietta Zamarra is a freshman studying communication arts. Do you agree that spreading false health claims harms public trust? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com
