This week marked the first anniversary of Defend Public Health ’s “Whopper of the Week” column, which has debunked misinformation from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, the Secretary of Health and Human Services in fifty posts.

DPH is a group of public health professionals, healthcare workers, and allies, now numbering more than 12,000 members. In addition to the Whoppers, the volunteer group has issued a number of position papers and briefs, notably The People’s Health Platform , which outlines their vision for building back better.

One can’t really celebrate such a sad anniversary occasion, so DPH wrote a retrospective of the Whopperorama, summarizing themes and lessons learned. They were overwhelmed by the amount of misinformation, so chose to focus on countering falsehoods that were gathering a lot of attention and were at the forefront of public discussion. They also describe lessons learned from watching Kennedy in action.

Elizabeth Jacobs , PhD, retired professor of epidemiology at the University of Arizona and co-founder of DPH, further explained another criterion for topics was “picking ones that actually could have an impact on people’s day-to-day lives.”

Each Whopper was structured to identify the falsehood, show why it is untrue, explain its political or commercial utility, and explain “how does this impact you, or why does this matter?”

I routinely turn to DPH as a trusted, reliable source of information and the information on their site, including the Whoppers, is extensively annotated.

DPH is not the only group calling attention to and tracking the torrent of Kennedy’s falsehoods and misinformation. So have The Week and USA Today . Senators Wyden and Alsobrooks have posted about his falsehoods and harmful actions in their report, “ Costs, Chaos and Corruption: 365 Days of Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s Disastrous Leadership ,” and updated it here .

One pattern DPH reviewers noted is that Kennedy “uses fear, anger, and bombast to get attention.” Examples of this are: Lyme disease is a manufactured bioweapon; Antidepressants make people violent; Vaccines cause autism .

Kennedy also relies on anecdotes rather than strong data, as with his claim that leucovorin could treat autism. Kennedy provides simplistic solutions to complex problems. His search for an environmental “root cause” of autism is one example. His approach to mental health is similar, focusing on “the overuse of psychiatric medications.” Similarly, Kennedy claims diabetes is curable by "changing the food source.” This is problematic for several reasons, including that he ignores the role of genetics/family history, activity, and food environment.

A recurrent theme with Kennedy is his reiterating that health is a matter of personal responsibility. He routinely ignores the social determinants of health in his assessments, even though these are likely to be far more important. This focus on personal “accountability” has additional consequences—one is that it relieves pressure on the government to address these problems. Another is that it pushes the public to embrace “wellness” products and services, fueling an industry of pricey supplements like peptides and chelating agents.

Ignoring that social determinants of health are even a “thing” has led to the slashing of DEI research that might show a relationship between health and race, gender, sex, or immigration status. Disparities research is not aligned with this administration’s goals.

One of the more disturbing things the DPH report highlights is Kennedy (and the Trump administration) discounting the value of vulnerable populations. For example, in March 2025, Kennedy said, “It’s very, very difficult for measles to kill a healthy person,” then blamed measles complications on poor nutrition or lack of exercise.

The Trump administration has similarly focused funding cuts on the poor, people of color, USAID, women, and children (e.g., SNAP). Kennedy undermined vaccination efforts during a measles outbreak in Samoa, and then falsely portrayed what happened to Congress . More recently, he proposed an unethical study of Hepatitis B vaccine in newborns in Guinea-Bissau. Because these policies disproportionately harm those in underserved populations, some accuse him of espousing eugenics .

Another recurrent theme DPH notes is Kennedy’s disparagement of public health institutions. In April, 2026, Kennedy said, “Many of us have come to the conclusion that the government actually lies to us. ” He says the FDA is hiding the benefits of raw milk from the public, for example. He describes the Centers for Disease Control as “ a cesspool of corruption. ” The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is “ rife with conflicts of interest ” and guilty of “ malevolent malpractice. ” His complaints go on and on…

Kennedy dismissed public health experts and fired all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control’s Vaccine Advisory Committee, replacing them with eight hand-selected controversial choices who lacked similar expertise. He promoted “personal choice .” Then a judge blocked Kennedy’s revised immunization schedule.

As a result, confusion remains as to appropriate vaccines, particularly for women and children. States have formed their own compacts—the West Coast Health Alliance and the Northeast Public Health Collaborative — and various professional groups have issued their own science-based vaccine recommendations.

Since Kennedy has directed that vaccine recommendations be radically altered contrary to the directives of scientific experts and has posted misinformation on the CDC’s site, I refer people elsewhere for accurate vaccine information. Trustworthy sites include the American Academy of Pediatrics , American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists , and the Vaccine Integrity Project .

Kennedy has eased the path for alternative medicine and wellness companies , lucrative businesses.

DPH concludes that Kennedy “has presided over the dismantling of immunization guidelines, disease surveillance systems, and investments in next-generation vaccines.

In preparing this review, one striking thing was the amount of time and work that went into producing the whoppers, week after week. Members I spoke with devote 2-3+ days per week researching and writing each post debunking a claim. I asked each person what motivates them to persist.

Miriam Rabkin , MD, retired Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, said that the solidarity is “meaningful and invigorating.” “Being able to participate in a group of public health experts who are working very hard to try to do the right thing and help improve public health under very unusual, head-spinningly difficult circumstances, is incredibly rewarding,” she added.

The ringleader behind the Whoppers project is Bénédicte Callan , PhD, a political scientist and retired Arizona State University professor, who says that patriotism keeps her going. She elaborated, “I am deeply offended by what Kennedy has done to our country. I’m deeply offended by what Trump has done to our our country. But I really believe that we are so much better than this, and and and basically, I think it’s important that people see behind the curtain. I think he’s like the Wizard of Oz. He’s a lot of smoke and mirrors, and the reality is, he’s just dismantling things.” She added, “We have been able to do real good in the world, and I am just so angry at what he has done,” and that anger fuels her.

Jacobs echoes that motivation, noting “the things that are being said are frankly enraging, particularly when they’re being said by somebody with no training, knowledge, education, or experience in public health, and has unearned authority.”

Jacobs continued, “What RFK Jr. says when he is in his official role, either putting on websites information that is incorrect, or saying it in podcasts or in Oval Office presentations, it cannot go unaddressed.” She added that if we were to let the falsehoods go unchallenged, “The damage would be even more catastrophic than it is.”

Rabkin’s take-home message is that the Whoppers are a “call to action. People should not accept this in their government. They should vote. I’m not telling them how to vote, but they should vote for candidates who support truth and support public health.”