After a White House press conference last fall promoted the use of leucovorin (folinic acid) for autism and raised concerns about acetaminophen (Tylenol) use during pregnancy, Google searches for leucovorin were nearly 380% higher than expected over the next 14 days, according to a study by Yale researchers published last week in JAMA Network Open.
Searches for leucovorin together with terms indicating an intent to purchase (like “buy” or “order”) rose more than 200%, and those connecting acetaminophen with autism and pregnancy soared, increasing 1,322%.
The findings suggest that political messages influence health behaviors, and they align with research published last week in Pediatrics that found that prescribing rates for leucovorin, a prescription-only form of vitamin B9, surged after the announcement. They also reinforce a previous study in The Lancet that found that Tylenol use among pregnant women dropped during the same period.
But the messages put forward by the White House were supported by very little scientific evidence.
An FDA written announcement after the press conference provided substantial corrections to the sweeping claims made in the press conference.
“In the press conference, the folate analog leucovorin was promoted as a potential treatment for autism, when in fact it would later be clarified that it would be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specifically for children with cerebral folate deficiency, a rare disorder that can mimic symptoms of autism,” write Michael L. Barnett, MD, and Jeremy Faust, MD, in a commentary on the JAMA Network Open study.
“President Trump and senior officials also selectively cited a single review article to claim that acetaminophen use during pregnancy was an important cause of autism, while omitting high-quality data that contradict that interpretation,” they added. “Notably, an FDA written announcement after the press conference provided substantial corrections to the sweeping claims made in the press conference, but that attracted comparatively little media attention.”
Nearly 1.2 million more online searches for leucovorin
For the search-term study, researchers used Google Trends to track daily Google search activity before and after the September 22, 2025, press conference (July 28 to October 10, 2025), expressed as a ratio of all Google searches (per 10 million). They looked at searches for leucovorin, folinic acid, folate, and multivitamins (the latter used as a comparison), as well as those that suggested an interest in buying those products.
The team also examined searches for acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and diphenhydramine (the latter two serving as comparison drugs) and searches that paired those terms with autism or pregnancy. The researchers accounted for different ways people might phrase their searches, such as using brand names like Tylenol instead of generic names or searching for terms such as “pregnant” rather than “pregnancy.”
The researchers then compared actual search activity in the two weeks following the press conference with the level of activity that would have been expected had the announcement not occurred.
The findings showed nearly 1.2 million additional online searches for leucovorin, accounting for a 378.7% increase, and nearly 11.7 million additional searches for acetaminophen, representing a 186.8% increase. Searches connecting acetaminophen with autism and pregnancy rose 1,322.4%, accounting for more than 4.3 million additional searches.
No similar search increases were observed for multivitamins or diphenhydramine. The findings did show an increase in searches for ibuprofen, which the researchers hypothesize may be the result of confusion or people looking for alternative pain-control treatments.
Shopping-related searches surged
The team also identified a surge in shopping-related searches. Queries suggesting purchasing interest in leucovorin, folinic acid, or folate—including searches with the terms “buy,” “order,” or “purchase”—jumped 202.7%, representing roughly 81,000 additional searches.
The authors note that they did not measure actual product purchases or use, and they did not look at search activity on artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots. And their findings cover only the two weeks immediately following the announcement.
Yet, “health leaders could consider how endorsements and warnings about medical products based on limited evidence may influence patients' health decisions, and health care professionals could consider the influence of high-profile announcements on consumer health behavior when counseling patients," they write.
Prescriptions for children rose sharply
The findings from the Pediatrics study suggest that those online searches may have translated into real-world prescribing changes.
In the study, a team led by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found that leucovorin prescribing increased dramatically among children following the White House announcement.
Weekly prescriptions among kids ages 0 to 10 years increased 1,348%, climbing from 385 prescriptions in February 2025 (when leucovorin received initial media coverage) to 5,575 prescriptions per week after the September press conference. Among those ages 11 to 20 years, prescriptions rose from 514 per week before the press conference to 2,928 per week after, representing a 470% increase.
The announcement may have exposed some children with ASD to a treatment with uncertain benefits while contributing to drug shortages for patients with cancer.
The evidence supporting leucovorin for autism is limited. A few small studies have suggested modest improvements for children with autism treated with leucovorin compared with placebo, and some observational studies have linked prenatal folic acid supplementation with a lower risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
However, one such study was retracted earlier this year, and professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, which publishes Pediatrics, have advised against routine use of leucovorin to treat ASD.
In March 2026, the FDA approved leucovorin only for treating cerebral folate transport deficiency, a rare neurologic disorder that can mimic some ASD symptoms—not ASD itself.
The authors warn that the announcement may have exposed some children with ASD to a treatment with uncertain benefits while contributing to drug shortages for patients with cancer, for whom leucovorin has well-established uses.
‘Extensive cleanup work’ required
In the JAMA Network Open commentary, Barnett and Faust note that, while demand is high for clear, unambiguous answers to pressing health questions and potential treatments (eg, “Is it good or bad?”), the reality is more complicated.
“Public communication in health care is complex and fraught with challenges,” they write, and clinicians and researchers have developed tools to translate uncertain evidence into careful public health communication.
The new reality is troubling. There apparently exists almost no lag between misinformation messaging and measurable changes in clinical practice.
The current findings illustrate what can happen “when careful planning, evidence synthesis, and technical expertise are completely bypassed,” they write—a situation that has become more common in the age of social media, where misinformation often travels farther and wider than well-established science.
“It is often repeated that it takes 17 years for evidence to reach clinical practice,” they write. “The new reality is troubling. There apparently exists almost no lag between misinformation messaging and measurable changes in clinical practice.”
The challenge now, they add, will be managing the “extensive cleanup work” required after misinformation spreads.
