September 24, 2025
In less than 24 hours, health experts from around the world spoke out to reject the fake news claims from the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump stumbled to pronounce the medical pronunciation of acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol, while falsely announcing to the world that usage of the drug while pregnant can lead to an autism diagnosis.
Trump, supported by Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz, stood before members of the press and the world to push unproven claims that if a pregnant woman takes the popular over-the-counter drug, their child could be at risk for autism. “Effective immediately, the FDA will be notifying physicians that the use of…well, let’s see how we say this…acetaminophen, is that OK? Which is basically known as Tylenol during pregnancy can be associated with a very increased risk of autism,” the president said.
“So taking Tylenol is uhhh…not good. I’ll say it, it’s not good. For this reason, they are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary.”
He then went on to list those “medically necessary” reasons as an extremely high fever, projecting that “if you can’t tough it out, if you can’t do it, that’s what you’re gonna have to do.”
In less than 24 hours, health experts from around the world spoke out to reject the fake news claims from the Trump administration. According to NBC News, there is no conclusive evidence to support ties between Tylenol and autism. In addition to there being no new evidence that would issue a change in listed guidance, data from pregnant women proves the opposite. “A large amount of data from pregnant women who used paracetamol during pregnancy indicates no risk of malformations on the developing fetus or on newborns,” the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in a statement.
The 47th president did not stop at the false narrative against Tylenol. He also suggested that additives found in vaccines, a hot topic throughout the country, may also cause autism. That’s when the World Health Organization (WHO) jumped in. “We know that vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines, as I said, save countless lives. So, this is something that science has proven, and these things should not be really questioned,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević said during a press briefing in Geneva.
The FDA has already followed orders from the commander-in-chief with a letter to practicing physicians; however, the tone is seemingly cautious. “To be clear, while an association between acetaminophen and autism has been described in many studies, a causal relationship has not been established, and there are contrary studies in the scientific literature,” the letter, signed by Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Dr. Martin A. Makay, read.
“In the spirit of patient safety and prudent medicine, clinicians should consider minimizing the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy for routine low-grade fevers.” However, social media users don’t seem to be buying it, seemingly laughing at Trump’s claims and issuing warnings not to listen to him or members of his team. Several referred back to April 24, 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Trump suggested concerned Americans should drink or inject bleach to beat the virus.
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