2 verifications about Andrew Wakefield Andrew Wakefield ×
“The MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine causes autism in children.”
This claim is false. The sole study linking MMR to autism (Wakefield, 1998) was retracted by The Lancet for deliberate fraud. Since then, overwhelming scientific evidence — including WHO's 2025 review of 31 studies, a Cochrane review of 23 million children, and a meta-analysis of 1.25 million children — consistently finds no causal link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Every major health authority (WHO, AAP, National Academies) confirms vaccines do not cause autism.
“Vaccines cause autism spectrum disorder in children.”
This claim is false. Decades of research — including WHO's December 2025 review of 31 studies, a Danish study of over 1 million children, and reviews by the National Academies and AAP — consistently find no causal link between vaccines and autism. The original 1998 Wakefield study that sparked this myth was retracted for fraud. A 2025 CDC website update noting causation hasn't been "ruled out" reflects uncertainty, not evidence of causation, and was criticized by the National Academies for lacking context.