MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN COMMISSION

2025

The USA Department of Health and Human Services published what was promised as “one of the most transformative health reports” ever released by the U.S. government, and a “gold standard” science. The report was about the causes of chronic illness in children and it pointed to processed foods, environmental chemicals, and the overprescription of medications and vaccines as the main problems. With an impressive reference list of approximately 500 scientific studies this was heavy stuff.

The problem? Many of the studies were fake. They were AI hallucinations. Yes, Chat GPT and the other generative AI systems all have a problem with making things up. The US government “wrote” a report with AI. It is not only teenagers that cheat on their homework! Beyond the references to studies that simply did not exist, the report also mischaracterized the findings of legitimate studies. Researchers whose work was correctly cited came forward to state that the MAHA report had twisted their conclusions to fit its own narrative.

The Harvard Business Review calls this type of report Workslop. “AI generated work content that masquerades as good work, but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.”

The White House dismissed these fundamental errors as "formatting issues." At the museum this exhibit is next to Trump’s tariff calculations which were also workslop.

Additional info:

Reuters - Trump administration 'MAHA' health report cited nonexistent studies

Science - Trump officials downplay fake citations in high-profile report on children’s health