MAHA shaping public health messages on social media
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. secretary of health and human services, has been receiving support for his policy goals from the political group initially launched to aid his presidential campaign. According to a September 1 Boston Globe article, the MAHA PAC (Make America Healthy Again political action committee) has been paying creators and social media influencers to promote Kennedy’s work in a newsletter and on social media.
Members of the MAHA movement have been adept at using non-traditional media to shape narratives around health, while scientists and other public health experts have struggled to catch up, Amanda Yarnell, senior director of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Health Communication, said in the article. She noted that particularly since the pandemic, many people trust social media for health information over their own health care providers.
“The leaders and funders in that [MAHA] space, they really understand that creators and the stories they tell increasingly have the power to shape our health,” she said. “The collective of MAHA understands that you want information to be wherever people are, and creators are really adept at doing that.”
Read the Boston Globe article
Group that supports Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to change media messages on public health
