JRE #2461 - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. · Aired Feb 27, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Mercury in vaccines (thimerosal) is the primary driver of the autism epidemic.
The finding
What the evidence shows
Thimerosal came out of routine childhood vaccines by 2001, apart from some flu shots. If it were driving autism, diagnoses should have fallen after that. They kept climbing. California data tracked prevalence rising every quarter from 1995 through 2007, straight through the removal.
Read the supporting source · www.cdc.gov ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Mercury in vaccines (thimerosal) is the primary driver of the autism epidemic?
No, not as stated. Thimerosal came out of routine childhood vaccines by 2001, apart from some flu shots. If it were driving autism, diagnoses should have fallen after that. It was said on JRE #2461 - Robert F. Kennedy Jr., aired Feb 27, 2026, at 18:30. We haven't independently confirmed who said it. The supporting source is cdc.gov, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
- Not independently confirmed in this record
- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
No dated revision is recorded here. Older checks may predate this log.
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