Poll shows small yet significant drop in Americans’ willingness to recommend MMR vaccines Only 13% of those polled said they were concerned or worried that they or someone in their family would contract measles. www.cidrap.umn.edu/m...

Cases of Whooping Cough Remain High, but Knowledge About the Disease Still Low. (@appc.upenn.edu) More, via Opinion Today: opiniontoday.substack.com/p/251219-top...

The Whoppers of 2025: $50 million for condoms for Gaza www.factcheck.org/2025/12/the-...

President Donald Trump has been a regular on @factcheck.org's year-end list of the most noteworthy falsehoods and distortions. With Trump back in the White House, it’s no surprise he dominates this year’s whoppers.

MIT’s UnDark published this interview with me discussing a few points from my new white paper on the U.S. vaccine safety monitoring system, and follow up points related to myocarditis, childhood vaccine rollouts, and the new Vaers report coming from the fda undark.org/2025/12/19/i...

Since he entered politics, President Donald Trump has been a regular on our end-of-year list of the most egregious and noteworthy falsehoods and distortions. With Trump back in the White House in 2025, it’s no surprise that he dominates this year’s whoppers. www.factcheck.org/2025/12/the-...

My paper summarizing the multi-component US vaccine safety monitoring system has just posted online. The key components of the system include: 1. pre-licensure clinical trials 2. passive monitoring (VAERs) 3. active monitoring (VSD, PRISM) 4. clinical analysis (CISA).

A new survey from @appc.upenn.edu found that more than three quarters of Americans indicate that they would be either very likely or somewhat likely to recommend that a newborn in their household be vaccinated against hepatitis B:

A new media analysis by @appc.upenn.edu found 19 stories in print media outlets that spread the false myth that suicides increase during the holidays:

Thanks to @sadieding.bsky.social @mikepesca.skystack.xyz for taking a look at the incredibly persistent but completely wrong holiday suicide myth. Read all about it here: mikepesca.substack.com/p/holiday-su...

APPC Director and @upenn.edu professor Kathleen Hall Jamieson talks with @pnas.org News about using a "mental model" approach to help people understand how science and medicine work, and undercut misinformation before it takes hold. cc: @asc.upenn.edu www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Lowest Suicide Rate Is in December but Some in Media Still Promote Holiday-Suicide Myth www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/lowest-suici... via @asc.upenn.edu "...media outlets that spread the false myth that suicides increase during the holidays."

The latest research from the @appc.upenn.edu's Annenberg Science and Public Health Knowledge survey, conducted by SSRS, finds most Americans would be likely to recommend the hepatitis B vaccine for a newborn. www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/although-pub...

Upending decades-old guidance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee voted to no longer issue a blanket recommendation that all newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine at birth. Throughout the meeting, many panelists made misleading claims about the vaccine.

Doctors in Philly, where the hepatitis B vaccine was developed, are not pleased with ACIP's new recommendations. “I don’t think this RFK Jr.-appointed anti-vaccine group calling itself the ACIP understands critical aspects of this virus,” said CHOP's Paul Offit. www.inquirer.com/health/local...

Unpacking the FDA’s Black Friday Vaccine Memo www.factcheck.org/2025/12/unpa...

Americans More Likely to Accept Guidance from AMA than CDC on Vaccine Safety. (@appc.upenn.edu) More, via Opinion Today: opiniontoday.substack.com/p/251204-top...

Poll shows Americans trust AMA over CDC when it comes to vaccines Confidence in the AMA compared to the CDC was true regardless of political party affiliation among adults polled. www.cidrap.umn.edu/p... Photo: Heather Hazzan, Self Magazine

Just over half of U.S. adults (52%) have confidence the CDC is providing the public with trustworthy information about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.

The head of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine division claimed in a leaked email that “at least 10 children” died from COVID-19 vaccination, using that to justify major vaccine regulatory changes. Experts, however, say too little information was provided to verify the claim.

Americans More Likely [by a 2-1 margin] to Accept Guidance from AMA than CDC on Vaccines www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-mo... AMA: "Despite recent changes to the CDC website, an abundance of evidence from decades of scientific studies shows no link between vaccines & autism."

Researchers at @appc.upenn.edu have tested the effectiveness of a ‘mental model’ approach to presenting scientific information, incorporating visual, verbal, or animated models to teach scientific or medical concepts to better identify misconceptions:

New: On vaccine safety, Americans are more likely to accept the recommendation of the American Medical Assn than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And just over half believe the CDC is providing trustworthy info on vaccines. www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-mo...

@falklab.bsky.social's Emily Falk of @asc.upenn.edu talks with @thepulse.whyy.org about why nurturing connection is good for your health whyy.org/episodes/wha...

‘Mental Model’ Approach to Countering Vaccine Bunk www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/mental-model... Key: "....exposing people to visual, verbal, or animated models" about "scientific concepts so that they either have the tools in place to identify misconceptions before encountering them..."

Critics have raised unfounded fears about #mRNA technology, which is being used to develop vaccines against melanoma, pancreatic cancer, flu, HIV, Lyme disease & more. A study in @pnas.org suggests a promising way to overcome those fears. cc: @asc.upenn.edu @upenn.edu @pauloffit.bsky.social

Sorting out the Facts on Epstein Claims www.factcheck.org/2025/11/sort...

Trump Misrepresents Biden’s Job Numbers to Tout His Own Record www.factcheck.org/2025/11/trum...

We were grateful to welcome Stanford Professor Jennifer Eberhardt for a thought-provoking presentation on racial bias. The seminar—co-hosted with @pennchibe.bsky.social, the Quattrone Center, @appc.upenn.edu, & @pennmindcore.bsky.social—drew a large crowd from the Penn community.

Thanks to @iflis.bsky.social for including our new data on a promising approach for overcoming misinformation about #mRNA technology. www.iflscience.com/is-mrna-the-...

Postdoctoral Researcher Positions!

Experts Say Democratic Video Not ‘Seditious,’ as Trump Claims www.factcheck.org/2025/11/expe...

Our Annual Fundraising Appeal www.factcheck.org/2025/11/our-...

As measles cases rise, we find the US public isn't very knowledgeable about the safety of the MMR vaccine or the risks of getting measles. www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/public-not-h...

Emily discusses how different regions of the brain shape the big and small decisions we make every day with Marty Moss-Coane on @whyy.org. Listen to the podcast here: whyy.org/episodes/the...

President Donald Trump brushed aside a question to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the 2018 killing of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the crown prince “knew nothing about it and we can leave it at that.” But Trump’s claim is at odds with a CIA assessment.

A new scoping review by LDI Fellow @kbjohnsonmd.bsky.social, published in @journalgim.bsky.social, examines the current state of AI in primary care and identifies key challenges to large-scale implementation. Read more: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-025-09938-0

Trump at Odds with CIA Assessment on Khashoggi Killing www.factcheck.org/2025/11/trum...

On Nov. 19, the CDC updated its webpage on vaccines and autism to claim that the CDC's previous statement — "vaccines do not cause autism" -- "is not an evidence-based claim." The new webpage repeats HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s misrepresentations of a recent large Danish study.

Drawing from years spent analyzing American politics on television, in print, and through their popular podcasts, @kateshaw.bsky.social and @chrislhayes.bsky.social examined the challenges the political media face in getting people to pay attention to the news at this year's Annenberg Lecture:

Annenberg researcher @dcosme.bsky.social examines ways to motivate and support youth to vote. We spoke to her about a recent commentary she and her team wrote on how to support youth in overcoming voting barriers:

Over 1,700 measles cases have been confirmed in the US in 2025 and two children have died, but the public isn't very knowledgeable about the safety of the MMR vaccine or the risks of getting measles. www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/public-not-h...

Experts Raise Doubts About Trump’s Dividend Payment Proposal www.factcheck.org/2025/11/expe...

Trump Serves a Misleading Thanksgiving Meal Statistic www.factcheck.org/2025/11/trum...

Trump Falsely Claims Democrats Want $1.5 Trillion for ‘Illegal Aliens’ www.factcheck.org/2025/11/trum...

Just fyi that our registration link went down for a couple of hours, but it’s working again and we’d love it if you joined us! Apologies for the hassle!

If you’re in Philly, don’t miss this special event tomorrow at Penn! Stanford Professor and McArthur “genius” award winner Jennifer Eberhardt will give a talk on Wednesday, November 12, at 4:30 pm. See flyer for info! Register: bit.ly/4qF14dj

Come join our team!

Over the course of the six-week shutdown — which may be ending soon — President Donald Trump has repeatedly made the false claim that Democrats “want $1.5 trillion for health care for illegal aliens.” www.factcheck.org/2025/11/trum...

Trump Repeats False Claim About DOGE Halting Obamacare 'Royalties' www.factcheck.org/2025/02/post...