{
  "id": 11442808,
  "title": "Most health institutions failed to address acetaminophen-autism misinformation on Instagram, audit finds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/most-health-institutions-failed-to-address-acetaminophen-autism",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-02T13:01:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-health-acetaminophen-autism-misinformation-instagram.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A study presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics 2026 National Conference & Exhibition revealed that most public health institutions failed to respond promptly to misinformation on social media regarding the link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism. Researchers examined Instagram posts from 65 accounts, including major children's hospitals, medical societies, and state health departments, to evaluate their reactions to the false claims circulating from September to November 2025. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) emerged as the quickest and most proactive institution in addressing the issue. Despite the prevalence of misinformation, only 14 out of 65 institutions (21.5%) published content to debunk the false claims. None of the state health departments took any action, and children's hospitals took as long as 51 days before addressing the topic. The AAP's response occurred on the first day of the controversy, and they posted 10 relevant pieces throughout the period. The research found that the 26 relevant posts had an average reading level well above the eighth-grade level in the United States. Notably, none of the institutions included multilingual content in their responses. The study's authors emphasize the critical responsibility of major health organizations in communicating with the populations they serve during health misinformation crises.",
  "summary": "Most public health institutions failed to respond promptly to misinformation on social media that falsely claimed acetaminophen use during pregnancy is linked to autism, according to research presented during the American Academy of Pediatrics 2026 National Conference & Exhibition.",
  "key_points": [
    "Only 21.5% of 65 health institutions addressed acetaminophen-autism misinformation on Instagram.",
    "None of the state health departments or children's hospitals took action to debunk the false claims."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}