In a White House press conference on September 22, President Trump once again proved that when it comes to public health, coherence takes a backseat to conspiracy. Flanked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – a man whose anti-vaccine crusades have long been debunked – Trump declared that acetaminophen (paracetamol in Australia), the active ingredient in Tylenol (similar to our Panadol), is a major driver of the so-called “autism epidemic.” He urged pregnant women to “tough it out” through pain and fever, claiming communities such as the Amish, who supposedly shun such medications, have “no autism.” It was a rambling, evidence-free spectacle, reminiscent of his infamous bleach-injection musings during COVID. Trump bounced from unproven associations to outright misinformation, insisting on a causal link where science sees only shaky correlations – if that.
The announcement wasn’t just incoherent; it was irresponsible. Autism spectrum disorder affects about 1 in 36 children in the U.S., with rising diagnoses largely attributed to improved awareness and broader criteria, not some hidden toxin in a 70-year-old over-the-counter staple. While some observational studies have noted associations between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental risks, experts from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) emphasise there’s no established causation. Confounders abound: Women take Tylenol for conditions such as fever or migraines, which themselves could impact foetal development. The FDA’s follow-up guidance was tepid at best – advising doctors to weigh risks but affirming it’s still the safest option for pain relief in pregnancy. Trump’s blanket warnings? They risk scaring expectant mothers into avoiding necessary treatment, potentially leading to worse outcomes like preterm birth or maternal complications.
This video is worth watching before reading on.
But the real outrage isn’t just Trump’s pseudoscience sideshow – it’s how Fox News, his perennial cheerleader, packaged it as gospel. Within hours, the network blasted headlines like “Trump administration announces use of acetaminophen… can increase the risk of autism,” framing it as a bold, breakthrough revelation. Their senior medical analyst, Dr. Marc Siegel, appeared on air to call for “more study” on the “alleged tie,” but the tone was all affirmation, with little pushback on the lack of proof. Local Fox affiliates piled on, from FOX 13 Tampa interviewing a mother reacting to the “link” to FOX 4 Dallas reporting the administration’s “claim” without qualifiers. Even as critics noted Fox abruptly cutting away from the live feed when RFK Jr. veered deeper into vaccine territory – prompting accusations of “big pharma” influence – the network’s overall coverage amplified the hysteria rather than interrogating it.
Fox News spinning Trump’s Tylenol-autism claim as a “breakthrough” is jaw-dropping, to put it mildly. It’s like they took a wild, evidence-free assertion and slapped a shiny “science” label on it without blinking.
This blind allegiance isn’t new for Fox, a network that has long served as Trump’s megaphone, from downplaying January 6 to hyping election fraud claims. But in health matters, it’s downright dangerous. By treating Trump’s incoherent ramble as a “significant medical finding,” Fox erodes public trust in actual science, fueling paranoia among viewers already primed for anti-establishment narratives. Autistic advocates decried the stigma, while parents worried about real support – like early interventions – got lost in the noise.
Tying it all together, Trump’s announcement and Fox’s fawning coverage reveal a toxic symbiosis: a president who weaponises ignorance for headlines, and a media outlet that profits from the echo. In an era of misinformation, this duo doesn’t just mislead – it could endanger lives. If we’re to combat the real challenges of autism, we need evidence-based policy, not podium theatrics. Fox, it’s time to choose: allegiance to facts or to a figurehead? The public deserves better.
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Well, RFK did promise to find a cause for autism in 6 months, and it seems they have done just that – not only they, but vit B9 is the cure. /s
Michael: Just in case you missed it, during your pre-print research, I suggest you follow this link that shows that considerable research data is already available on this topic. Sure, Trump’s speech is a bit rambling and Fox is always focussed on getting the scoop – it usually is on any topic however, that is no reason to dispel this issue.
https://www.malone.news/p/autism-what-we-know?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=583200&post_id=174335136&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=4an0y2&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
NEWS FLASH
Scientists at Trump University have identified a link to dementia accelerated by the consumption of Cheeseburgers and Fries.
Early symptoms include bruising on the hands, orange tinting of the facial skin and delusional thoughts of grandeur.
You have been warned – your countries are going to Hell – come join us!
https://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/trump-university-its-worse-than-you-think
Mediocrates has offered us a stream of contrived, filthy, deceptive, egofixated, errorstrewn propaganda on this topic. Dismiss as typical of USA, Trump, fanaticism, deception, posing, self promotion.
I see from their website, though I can’t read the full article, as I refuse to pay for any Murdoch product, that the Murdoch paid propagandists at the Australian, are also falling in line with Trump, with an article headlined “Are paracetamol’s limited benefits worth the potential risk”?
Why would an organisation that pays no tax in Australia care about the adverse health affects their fawning servitude to Trump has on Australian pregnant women.
The web page shows all the Headlines, which is all one needs to know about the lies and propaganda these shills produce.
I wonder when the Sussan Ley or her far right Liberal opponents will call for a study into paracetamol.
Terry… you forgot paranoia, flight of ideas, confabulation and serious narcissistic personalty disorder. Probably hereditary, due to dad’s heavy consumption of cheeseburger and fries, Tylenol and bleach abuse.
Oh FFS. Tylenol is just a brand name for commonly available paracetamol, sold everywhere under numerous other brands names. The question must be asked: why is Trump targeting THIS specific brand???
Max, you sound frustrated, nobody is disputing Tylenol is a brand of paracetamol. It would be nice to know why he is targeting it, I suppose but how would that change anything? More important is acknowledging this is a function of his egregious and malicious antisocial personality disorder, chronic brain farts, Republican malfunction and American dystopia – the nation’s inability to do anything about their rapid descent into the sublime gates of hell, as opposed to his pathetic spat and delusional allegations at the UN. Paracetamol won’t fix any of that especially because America can’t define the problem!
A far bigger issue than autism which presents us with the prospect of fabulous irony, if not entirely symbolic given the gross cognitive error and social decline of individual and national proportion – compounded by the MAGA christofascist ideology.
He is Fox News’ ‘Frankenstein’, but Fox News and similar are followed onshore by many middle aged and older males who lack skills of media literacy.
However, no one responsible will call science denialism out as it has become so entrenched and mainstreamed as freedom of choice &/or beliefs, especially climate and COVID/vaccinations…
Jon:
They’re targeting paracetamol/acetaminophen because it’s the only possible cause (apart from genetics, but they aren’t interested in fact) that there is any even vaguely scientific study to point to. The problem is, the study in question is being misused.
Yes, said study does show a small increase in autism diagnosis for those children whose mothers took paracetamol during pregnancy (from 1.34% to 1.42%, from memory). But the study then checked siblings where the drug was taken during one pregnancy but not others. Same mother, same genetics, same environment, different drug use.
And for those groups, there was no difference. Paracetamol didn’t do shit. But they ignored that part, as we expected. It’s just a little surpising that they didn’t go down the “it’s the vaccines” route.
The next step: there is, supposedly, a treatment. And guess what? – Dr Mehmet Oz (one of the grifters behind this analysis) sells a supplement loaded with the substance they claim can “cure” the problem. And there are people who expect a critical thinker to take this bullshit at face value?
Phil Pryor: Rather than resorting to an un-solicited ad hominem ad nauseum character assessment why not look at the research quoted in the link? Then construct an objective, rational and critical comment that gives justification for your declaration that my post is “.. a stream of contrived, filthy, deceptive, egofixated, errorstrewn propaganda…” As for “..Dismiss as typical of USA, Trump, fanaticism, deception, posing, self promotion…”; everyone knows that Trump is not an accomplished orator and is liable to embellish his speeches with flowery nonsense, so accepting this as his normal it is still possible to see that the subject in question, (supported by more sensible statements from RFK Jr, and Drs Makary, Battacharya and Oz), is worth reviewing. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex medical phenomenon and the aetiology of ASD is likely to be a complex combination of medical, pharmaceutical and environmental factors. Researchers have already noticed the synchronicity between the rising incidence of ASD (since 1980’s), the introduction of the US childhood vaccination program (since 1980’s), the increased availability and use of acetaminophen (since 1980’s) and the introduction of exemption from liability for adverse post-vaccination events (since the 1980’s). So far it seems that ASD is unpredictable and random in occurrence. What current research is trying to determine is whether or not random consumption of acetaminophen has an adverse outcome for neonatal neural and behavioural development. It is already known that folate deficiency prior to pregnancy and during the first trimester is related to an increased risk for neural tube defect resulting in spina bifida in the newborn. Hence the revelation that a folic acid derivative may be beneficial for mitigating the behavioural symptoms in some forms of ASD in growing children.
Whatever; the CDC is intensively researching every possibility to elucidate the cause/s of ASD and despite Trump’s incoherence we should at least refrain from projecting unsubstantiated and baseless opinions until the truth is established as a scientific fact.
By the way I am Australian, not American.
Meidocrates, no personal offence was intended. It was related to the link. I read the link and believed it was from an old decried fanatical source. Today’s Conversation site has another useful counter article. We must agree to consider further, and I will surely be clearer in future. (I have a new unfamiliar laptop and try too hard for brevity.) And thanks for your voluminous reply offering leads and ideas. Had you written like this earlier, I might not have written but would have looked at this more.
Phil: The link (posted by Mediocrates)is indeed from Robert Malone, a known “controversial” figure.
To really unravel the balance of truth in these posts would now require large amounts of time as well as the expertise in the subject matter.
The balance of learned opinion seems to be that it is no different from the cure for Covid-19 by Ivermectin etc. also espoused by Malone. So I would leave it at that. Also it is not known from the cited studies what amount/dosage of Tylenol/paracetemol was taken by the pregnant women in the studies. After all, anything is toxic at a given dose.
I will worry about the matter when anyone I know becomes pregnant 🙂
isn’t Hydroxychloroquine a cure for austism???
ps this shows how trump is not the clever person he believes.
On self-image
“I had some beautiful pictures taken in which I had a big smile on my face. I looked happy, I looked content, I looked like a very nice person, which in theory I am.”
Mediocrates:
… RFK Jr, and Drs Makary, Battacharya and Oz …
RFK Jr is a lawyer by training and has zero medical background apart from his rabid anti-vaccine, anti-germ theory, anti-modern medicine activism. Makary I don’t know; Battacharya and Oz are well known internet grifters who have also jumped on the “alternative medicine” gravy train.
I find it strange in the extreme that everyone who attacks “Big Pharma” for supposed corruption around vaccines and other medication doesn’t do the same “follow the money” research into the alternative scene. Minimal controls on claims, quality, ingredients, results and more and more $$$ being made as they convert the gullible. But oh no, that, apparently, is just fiiiiine.
Here is a decent commentary:
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/health/2025/09/23/autism-paracetamol-pregnancy