Question

Glyphosate is linked to rising autism rates, but the media isn't addressing it.

Answer 1

This is an accurate claim. The link that is provided as evidence is to a site where Zach Bush is a guest on the the Rick and Roll podcast. Upon further research, Zach Bush is a physician specializing in internal medicine, endocrinology and hospice. While he is looked down upon by critics for being biased in this studies due to his own line of treatments for sale, he is one of the only triple board certified MDs which speaks to his credibility. On a different interview (https://www.nourishmeorganics.com.au/blogs/nmo-gut-health-journal/zach-bush-md-on-glyphosate-autism-and-chronic-disease-epidemic) Dr. Bush explains the correlation between autism and Glyphosate. He says that according to data, the US is on track to have 1 in ever 3 children be diagnosed with autism in 2035. He has followed the start of this rise in diagnosis back to the rise in the use of Glyphosate. Glyphosate is a chemical he explains that is used to kill the weeds in crops that end up in the grocery stores as well as the drinking water we consume. These findings are reinforced by a study done by a multitude of scientists that was published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences in the United States of America. They also found the parallel between the rise in the chemical and the rates of ASD. They did testing on animal models specifically maternally and the results came back positive. 

Comments

You did not link any reputable sources backing up your answer, neither a podcast episode nor a blog post are sufficient. the justification you gave for Zach Bush’s credibility sounds like it came from Bush himself. Additionally, any article that includes the phrase “the media isn’t addressing this” already has an innaccurate claim because that article is part of the media.

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I think that using a podcast as justification without any other medical professionals agreeing with Bush isn't enough evidence to submit the claim as false. I also think that pointing out a lack of media attention isn't necessarily a reason why something is true or false, and often points to the fact that a story isn't accurate or fact-checked since it isn't picked up by a major news organization.

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My comment merely points out the flaws with that specific fact check. My fact check can be seen below, which includes legitimate sources proving the claim as false.

Answer 2

This claim is false. The link that is provided is to a bluesky post of an episode of a podcast. “the media” is not one entity and there have been multiple reputable articles disproving this claim, so it is false to say that the media isn’t addressing this. The link between glyphosates and autism is correlation rather than causation, as explained in this article from a source rated highly reputable by fact checking sites. The spike in autism diagnoses occurred at the same time that the diagnostic criteria for autism was expanded, suggesting that there aren’t more people with autism being born, but more people being diagnosed that wouldn’t have been earlier in time. 

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2023/11/13/autism-increase-mystery-solved-no-its-not-vaccines-gmos-glyphosate-or-organic-foods/

Answer 3

This is a true claim, A study done by the School of Public Health, Guizhou Medical University in Guiyang, China (here), describes how exposure to glyphosate affects the microbiome in pregnant organisms. This is linked to an increase in autism spectrum disorder. The use of pesticides has increased greatly and with that there is a linked rise in autism. By studying this further we could figure out a more in depth link between the two to find out how to prevent this issue.

Answer 4

Some studies suggest a possible link between glyphosate exposure and autism, but the evidence isn't strong enough and does not establish connection. Factors like genetics and how it's diagnosed also can influence autism rates. So it appears there is not a strong enough sources to completely back this up.