9 false or misleading claims RFK Jr. has made, investigated

Snopes keeps up with misinformation stemming from rumors spread by the health secretary. Published Sept. 7, 2026 As the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. holds a unique role in shaping national priorities and discourse surrounding public health. Even before he took office, Kennedy gained attention particularly for his views on vaccines — for example, claiming in 2017 that if a vaccine vial broke in a building, the building would have to be evacuated. After stepping into the HHS role in 2025, he continued to spread false and misleading rumors, such as suggesting on multiple occasions that vaccines caused the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and that the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella contained tissue from aborted fetuses. His views on vaccines and the use of medications such as Tylenol often bleed into conversations about autism. In April 2025, he claimed autistic children will never pay taxes, hold a job, play baseball or write a poem, and in May 2026, he cited highly critized studies that said children circumcised early had "double" the rate of autism because they were given Tylenol. Continue reading for nine examples of misleading or false claims publicly stated by Kennedy we've unpacked: Sources Christensen, Laerke. 'Did RFK Jr. Claim Children Circumcised Early Had "double" Rate of Autism Tied to Tylenol Use?' Snopes, 29 May 2026, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/rfk-jr-autism-circumcision-tylenol/.Kasprak, Alex. 'FACT CHECK: Would Breaking a Vaccine Vial Necessitate Evacuating a Building?' Snopes, 15 May 2017, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/vaccine-vial-evacuating-building/.New item…Rascouët-Paz, Anna. 'RFK Jr. Repeats False Claim That MMR Vaccine Contains Fetal Tissue'. Snopes, 31 Aug. 2026, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/rfk-mmr-vaccine-fetal-tissue/.New item…Rascouët-Paz, Anna. 'Yes, RFK Jr. Said Autistic Children Will Never Pay Taxes, Hold a Job, Play Baseball or Write a Poem'. Snopes, 18 Apr. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/quote-rfk-jr-autistic-kids/.Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Articles | Snopes.Com. https://www.snopes.com/tag/robert-f-kennedy-jr/?pagenum=1. Accessed 2 Sept. 2026.Wazer, Caroline. 'RFK Jr. Has Suggested Vaccines Caused 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic at Least Twice'. Snopes, 1 Apr. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//news/2025/04/01/rfk-vaccine-spanish-flu-pandemic/. By Taija PerryCook Taija PerryCook is a Seattle-based journalist who previously worked for the PNW news site Crosscut and the Jordan Times in Amman. Article Tags