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** Fox News Interviews RFK Jr.
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The day after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as the new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, he sat for an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham.

FactCheck.org Science Editor Jessica McDonald and Staff Writer Catalina Jaramillo reviewed his remarks and wrote about multiple incorrect or misleading statements that he made.

For example, Kennedy exaggerated when he told Ingraham that the U.S. "literally" has "the sickest population in the world." While Americans generally have poorer health than people living in other wealthy nations, they still live longer and are healthier than much of the world.

He claimed that the National Institutes of Health told "doctors and patients not to report injuries" after taking an abortion drug. The drug he’s likely referencing, which is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has more stringent adverse event reporting requirements than the vast majority of prescription medicines.

Kennedy also repeated some of his go-to claims about vaccines, including the false idea that "vaccines are the one medical product that is exempt from prelicensing safety studies." All vaccines are tested for safety before being approved.

For more, see Jessie's and Catalina's story: "FactChecking RFK Jr.’s First Interview as HHS Secretary ([link removed]) ."

Earlier this week, Kennedy also downplayed the seriousness of an ongoing measles outbreak in Texas, falsely claiming that people had been hospitalized “mainly for quarantine” and misleadingly stating that the situation is “not unusual.” For more on those claims, see Jessie's story: "RFK Jr. Minimizes Measles Outbreak in Texas ([link removed]) ."
HOW WE KNOW
To evaluate claims that Elon Musk and President Donald Trump made about improper Social Security payments to deceased individuals, we reviewed a series of reports published by the Office of Audit in the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General. Tens of millions of dead Americans are still mislabeled as alive in Social Security databases, as Musk said. But only a tiny fraction of them still receive benefits. Read more: "Trump, Musk Exaggerate Scale of Improper Social Security Payments to the Dead. ([link removed]) "
FEATURED FACTS
The SSA has two primary tasks: assigning Social Security numbers at birth and administering the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, or OASDI program. The SSA reported more than 68.4 million recipients in 2024. Last year, 54.3 million retired workers and their dependents received Social Security payments; 5.8 million survivors received payments, and 8.3 million disabled workers and their dependents received benefits. Read more: "Online Posts Misconstrue Data on Social Security Numbers ([link removed]) ."

SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK
Are you following us on social media? We regularly post short videos, like the one below, on claims we have fact-checked. This video covering Trump's false claim about U.S. and European aid to Ukraine has over 125,000 views across all our social media pages and channels.

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You can follow us on YouTube ([link removed]) , Facebook ([link removed]) , Instagram ([link removed]) , Threads ([link removed]) , X ([link removed]) , BlueSky ([link removed]) , WhatsApp ([link removed]) and TikTok ([link removed]) .
REPLY ALL

Reader: Is President Obama receiving royalties from Obamacare? Read post [that says] he’s been receiving $2 million a year since 2010.

FactCheck.org Staff Writer D'Angelo Gore: No, the former president is not receiving royalty payments related to "Obamacare," formally known as the Affordable Care Act.


The bogus claim that the Department of Government Efficiency "stopped an annual payment to Barack Obama for $2.6 million" was published ([link removed]) this month ([link removed]) by America's Last Line of Defense, or ALLOD, which posts satirical pieces on its website and on social media.

The "About us" page ([link removed]) on ALLOD's website, dunning-kruger-times.com, says: "Everything on this website is fiction. It is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical."


** Wrapping Up
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Here's what else we've got for you this week:
* "No Basis for Corruption Accusations About USAID Administrator ([link removed]) ": President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have suggested without evidence that officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development may have siphoned off taxpayer money for themselves, echoing false social media claims about the former administrator’s net worth.

* "Posts Share Bogus Audio of Donald Trump Jr. Supporting Arms for Russia, Not Ukraine ([link removed]) ": A fake audio clip of Donald Trump Jr. saying that the U.S. should have sent weapons to Russia instead of Ukraine was shared across social media. Deepfake experts said the audio was apparently generated using artificial intelligence. A spokesperson for Trump Jr. said the audio clip is “100% fake.”

Y lo que publicamos en español ([link removed]) (English versions are accessible in each story):
* "Musk hace declaraciones engañosas sobre los pagos de FEMA relacionados con migrantes a la ciudad de Nueva York ([link removed]) ": La segunda semana de febrero, funcionarios de la ciudad de Nueva York informaron que la ciudad había recibido dos pagos del gobierno federal como reembolso por los gastos incurridos al brindar servicios a los migrantes que llegaron a Nueva York, incluyendo 19 millones de dólares para gastos de hotel. Sin embargo, Elon Musk, jefe del Departamento de Eficiencia Gubernamental (DOGE, por sus siglas en inglés), afirmó, sin aportar pruebas, que 59 millones dólares “destinados a la ayuda por desastres en Estados Unidos” se enviaron a “hoteles de lujo” en esa localidad.

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