The Facts Behind Claims on Autism and Tylenol www.factcheck.org/2025/09/the-...

Public confidence in the trustworthiness of U.S. health and science agencies has dropped across the board since the inauguration of President Trump, driven by sharp declines among Democrats. (@appc.upenn.edu) More, via Opinion Today: opiniontoday.substack.com/p/250919-top...

Poll: Public trust in US health agencies down, only 39% trust RFK Jr Regarding information from the CDC, 64% of Americans expressed confidence, compared with 63% for the FDA and 62% for the NIH www.cidrap.umn.edu/p... Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr cc

Today's CDC vaccine advisory committee meeting included dubious claims about DNA contamination in the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. We wrote about that issue here: www.factcheck.org/2023/10/scic...

Rural Health Fund Falls Short of Estimated Medicaid Cuts www.factcheck.org/2025/09/rura...

Most Americans lack confidence that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is providing the public with trustworthy information on matters concerning public health. (@appc.upenn.edu) www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/public-confi...

New: Most Americans (60%) do not have confidence that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is providing the public with trustworthy information on health matters. Confidence in RFK Jr. (39%) is lower than former NIAID director Anthony Fauci (57%). www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/public-confi...

New survey: Public confidence in U.S. health agencies slides, fueled by declines among Democrats. www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/public-confi... #CDC #FDA #NIH #RFK

News reports have indicated HHS Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may point to Tylenol and folate deficiency in his promised announcement on the causes of autism. But neither Tylenol nor folate deficiency has been shown to cause autism. Some evidence has pointed away from Tylenol as a risk factor.

Tomorrow is Constitution Day! And our annual #civics survey finds that Americans’ knowledge of civics has increased, with 70% now able to name all three branches of government. www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-kn...

Rooted in Annenberg’s tradition of academic excellence and public impact, our new master's program — the Master of Communication and Media Industries — offers a chance to develop your skills in research, critical inquiry, and applied practice:

Our new short correspondence in @nature.com: Protecting science funding in the national budget is crucial, but it’s not enough. We have an impoundment problem. What happens when money that Congress allocated for science gets withheld?

Parental support for school vaccine mandates remains high in US Earlier this month, Kennedy told the media that he does not believe the federal government should mandate any vaccine. www.cidrap.umn.edu/m...

Most Americans Favor MMR Vaccine Requirement for Public School. (@appc.upenn.edu) More, via Opinion Today: opiniontoday.substack.com/p/250914

Just 3% of Americans have a great deal of trust in the U.S. Supreme Court to operate in their best interest, down from 26% in 2019, while almost a third have no trust the court is operating in their best interest. (@appc.upenn.edu) More, via Opinion Today: opiniontoday.substack.com/p/250912-top...

Broad popular support for some Supreme Court reforms. (@appc.upenn.edu) More, via Opinion Today: opiniontoday.substack.com/p/250912-top...

Americans’ Knowledge of Civics Increases: Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey. (@appc.upenn.edu) More, via Opinion Today: opiniontoday.substack.com/p/250912-top...

Our annual civics survey finds that 70% of Americans can name the three branches of government -- up from 65% last year. www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-kn...

Vice Dean Emily Falk talks about how we can initiate change in our lives in the most recent episode of @hiddenbrain.bsky.social. Listen here: hiddenbrain.org/podcast/winn... @falklab.bsky.social

COVID Vaccines Are Harder to Get, Despite Claims from HHS, RFK Jr. www.factcheck.org/2025/09/covi...

We're excited to see these two brilliant Penn academics in coversation this afternoon at the APPC at 4PM. Attendees can meet the speakers at the reception after. @upenn.edu @asc.upenn.edu @sas.upenn.edu @pennsasdean.bsky.social @appc.upenn.edu @katymilkman.bsky.social @falklab.bsky.social

RFK Jr. Repeats Flawed Justifications for ‘Clean Sweep’ of CDC Vaccine Advisory Panel www.factcheck.org/2025/06/rfk-...

RFK Jr. Repeats Deception About COVID-19 Vaccines and Transmission www.factcheck.org/2023/08/scic...

Trump’s Unsupported Death Penalty Claim www.factcheck.org/2025/09/trum...

On Aug. 26, President Donald Trump proposed seeking the death penalty for anyone convicted of murder in Washington, D.C., claiming the death penalty is “a very strong preventative.” But the research, which has been difficult to conduct, is inconclusive on whether capital punishment is a deterrent.

RFK Jr. Defends Ouster of CDC Director By Distorting List of Public Health Achievements www.factcheck.org/2025/08/rfk-...

RFK Jr. Defends Ouster of CDC Director By Distorting List of Public Health Achievements www.factcheck.org/2025/08/rfk-...

Addressing Trump’s Claims About Ending Multiple Wars www.factcheck.org/2025/08/addr...

Trump, RFK Jr. Repeat Misleading Claims on Autism Prevalence, Causes www.factcheck.org/2025/04/rfk-...

D.C. Homicide-Free Streak Not First in ‘Years’ www.factcheck.org/2025/08/d-c-...

BCFG is co-hosting a conversation between & @katymilkman.bsky.social and Team Scientist Emily Falk on her new book, What We Value. 📅 Wed, Sept 10 | 4–5:30PM 📍 The Agora, Annenberg Public Policy Center Co-hosted with @appc.upenn.edu, @asc.upenn.edu, and @pennmindcore.bsky.social

A new study by @appc.upenn.edu has found that the portrayal of guns in popular entertainment in the past two decades closely paralleled the increase in firearm use in real-world homicide rates among American youth:

FactChecking Trump’s Claims About Mail-In Ballots, Voting Machines and States’ Role www.factcheck.org/2025/08/fact...

Report for Pennsylvania: https://scienceimpacts.org/report?stateCode=PA

New BlueSky bot gives you on-demand fact sheets about economic losses from NIH budget cuts. Just tag the bot and give a state, zip code, or house district: Hey @scienceimpacts.org, what’s the impact in Pennsylvania?

Assessing Redistricting Claims from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott www.factcheck.org/2025/08/asse...

Assessing Redistricting Claims from Texas, New York Governors (1/2) www.factcheck.org/2025/08/asse...

In the battle over Texas’ redistricting plan to pick up Republican House seats, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have made competing claims. www.factcheck.org/2025/08/asse...

The growth in firearm violence in the most popular U.S. movies over more than two decades closely paralleled the increase in firearm use in real-world homicide rates among young people 15 to 24 years old, according to a new analysis. www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/rise-in-gun-...

Recapping Trump’s Deceptive Tariff Claims www.factcheck.org/2025/08/reca...

📊 JAMA Data Brief: A recent health survey from @appc.upenn.edu shows only 13% of US adults can identify the #bloodpressure reading that signifies #hypertension, one of many knowledge gaps related to the condition. ja.ma/4mFo0WP

Thanks to @jama.com for digging into our data on #hypertension!

Recapping Trump’s Deceptive Tariff Claims www.factcheck.org/2025/08/reca...

New: A study of the top US movies from 2000-2021 finds a 200% increase in gun violence, paralleling the increase in firearm deaths among young people ages 15-24. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

President Donald Trump inaccurately claimed that the murder rate in Washington, D.C., “reached the highest rate probably ever” in 2023, and he ignored a decline in murders since then to justify a federal takeover of the city’s law enforcement. www.factcheck.org/2025/08/trum...

A study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that firearm violence in popular U.S. movies rose about 200% from 2000 to 2021, closely mirroring increased firearm-related homicides among youth aged 15–24.

Q&A on the Investigation into Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith www.factcheck.org/2025/08/qa-o...

"Falk’s intriguing book explores how the value system works; how we can alter our behaviour; and how we can better interact with large webs of influence." Andrew Robinson of @nature.com reviews Vice Dean Emily Falk's book "What We Value" www.nature.com/articles/d41...

President Donald Trump and top Democrats are making competing claims about how prices have changed since Trump took office. Here's a look at the numbers. www.factcheck.org/2025/07/are-...

Are Prices Up or Down? Parsing Misleading Claims by Trump and Democrats (1/2) www.factcheck.org/2025/07/are-...