Susan Furth, MD, PhD Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Susan Furth, MD, PhD Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
During his Senate confirmation hearings, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. presented a study alleging a link between vaccines and autism. The paper was published in a journal titled Science, Public Health Policy and the Law, which was actually a blog rather than a legitimate medical or scientific journal. The study underwent review by Peter McCullough, an anti-vaccine activist, and received backing from the National Vaccine Information Center, known for its anti-vaccine stance. Such "journals" that support specific viewpoints—like the claim that vaccines cause autism—are expected to become more common.
In January 2025, Christine Lane and her colleagues addressed this trend in their publication (Lane C, et al. Predatory Journals—What Can We Do to Protect Their Prey? New N Engl J Med. 2025 Jan 16;392(3):283-285). They estimated around 15,000 such journals existed in 2021. The authors highlighted how these journals often use “names and branding features that mimic well-established journals,” allowing them to “facilitate the dissemination of unvetted, weak, or even fraudulent health information.”
As society increasingly adopts the mindset of "you have your science and I have mine," there is a growing need to recognize that not all scientific studies are equally credible or have undergone thorough peer review.
Contributed by: Paul A. Offit, MD
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