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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched the next step in its accelerated review of fluoride safety as more states move to ban community water fluoridation. The review arrives as senior officials amplify concerns about fluoride that go beyond what the current evidence supports.

Plus, The Monitor explores several developments related to AI policy and content moderation, including the growing adoption of “generative engine optimization” to influence what AI chatbots say. A new study suggests that the same techniques used to make accurate information more visible to AI may also make these tools more susceptible to false health claims.

How AI Can Both Detect and Enable Fraudulent Research

According to a new study, nearly 10% of cancer research papers showed signs of being fabricated by “paper mills”. The problem may intensify as generative AI becomes more sophisticated, prompting lawmakers to demand information about safeguards in place. And, claims that physicians are financially incentivized to promote vaccines persist, despite lack of evidence.

Polling

Trust and Confidence in the CDC Remain at Low Point After Changes to Recommended Childhood Vaccines

Weeks after the Trump administration reduced the number of childhood vaccine recommended for routine use, public trust in the CDC is at its lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic, and less than half are confident in federal agencies’ ability to make such recommendations. Among those who have heard about the revised recommendations, more say they expect the changes to have a negative impact than a positive one on children’s health. Read the News Release.

Interactive Dashboard: KFF Polling on Health Information and Trust

Drawing on KFF’s poll findings, this interactive dashboard tracks the public’s trusted sources for health information, attitudes toward vaccines, and use of news, social media, and AI for health-related information. It provides visual representations of the key trends in the public’s trust in health information and tracks exposure to and belief in false and unproven health claims.

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  • KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: The Public’s Views on Measles Outbreaks and Misinformation

    Feature

    This poll looks at awareness and concern over the outbreak of measles in the U.S. and finds that a growing share of adults is encountering false claims about the measles vaccines, but many are uncertain whether these claims are true or false. Parents who lean toward believing the false claims are less likely to say they keep their children up to date on routine vaccinations.

  • Fluoride Bans and Food Safety Doubts — The Monitor

    Feature

    This Monitor covers how fears about fluoride as a neurotoxin are impacting public health and how trust in food safety is eroding following the USDA's disbandment of two food safety panels. It also discusses approaches to addressing false information and the accuracy of AI chatbots compared to search engines.

  • Bird Flu Knowledge, Misleading Claims About Measles Prevention, and Health Content Restrictions — The Monitor

    Feature

    This volume features findings on beliefs about bird flu from KFF’s latest Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust, as well as the false promotion of vitamin A as a preventative for measles. The Monitor also shares developments in content moderation on social media and how a study about mental health after gender-affirming care is misrepresented to make false claims about health care for transgender and non-binary people. Additionally, this volume explores when people prefer to use an AI chatbot, instead of a person, for health information.

  • KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: Bird Flu

    Feature

    As bird flu continues to spread among animals in the U.S., KFF's Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust finds that the public is more concerned about its impact on food prices than potential health impacts. Trust in the CDC to provide information on bird flu is also divided along partisan lines, and a large share of the public is uncertain about public health agencies' recommendations for preventing infection.

  • COVID Vaccine Concerns and Claims About Ivermectin as Cancer Treatment — The Monitor

    Feature

    This volume covers recent claims about COVID vaccine safety after a new study describes a rare condition it calls “post-vaccination syndrome” (PVS). It also investigates the false claim that ivermectin can treat cancer and highlights the re-emergence of concerns online about Gardasil, and its alleged mortality rate.

  • U.S. Measles Outbreaks: A New Abnormal in a Time of Vaccine Hesitancy

    Quick Take

    Given the current trends and embrace of vaccine skepticism on the part of the administration, and potential changes to federal policy around childhood vaccines, we might continue to witness more and longer outbreaks of preventable disease — and just maybe lose our measles elimination status, which as a country we’ve had for 25 years.

  • Race-Based Vaccine Myths Spread Amid Measles Outbreaks — The Monitor

    Feature

    This volume discusses the spread of race-based vaccine myths and shifts in health communication from fact-checking to fostering open dialogue. It also explains common misconceptions about heart attack treatment and prevention, a new scientific journal that questions established science, and gaps in research standards for AI chatbots used in healthcare.