NPR corrects autism report after overstating prevalence figures

NPR has issued a correction to its coverage of the White House announcement on acetaminophen and autism after misstating the prevalence of the condition.

In its original broadcast, the outlet reported that 1 in 3 children were diagnosed with autism. In fact, the correct figure is 1 in 31, or roughly 3%. The mistake was later clarified in an editor’s note attached to the segment.

The report centred on President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s decision to link the painkiller Tylenol to autism risk and promote the cancer drug folinic acid as a potential treatment. While the segment included expert scepticism about the evidence behind these claims, the prevalence error risked inflating perceptions of the scale of autism diagnoses in the United States.

Researchers have repeatedly stressed that autism is primarily genetic in origin, and that current association studies linking acetaminophen to the disorder do not establish causation.

NPR acknowledged the mistake and said the correction ensures listeners have accurate context when assessing both the administration’s claims and the wider scientific debate.