Don’t fall for RFK Jr. quote about babies absorbing ‘Tylenol residue from the esophagus’

A rumor circulated online in October 2025 that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. secretary of health and human services, said newborn babies absorb Tylenol residue from the esophagus, which could cause autism in vaccinated people. 

For example, a Facebook page called VoteBlue — which appeared to be unconnected to the federal action PAC of the same name — posted (archived), “‘When the baby emerges from the placenta it absorbs Tylenol residue from the esophagus. If that happens near a WiFi router anyone in the room who is vaccinated is pretty much guaranteed to catch autism’ – RFK Jr”

The alleged quote also spread across Instagram (archived), Threads (archived) and Bluesky (archived). Snopes readers wrote in, asking whether Kennedy actually said the words attributed to him in online posts.

We found no credible reports that Kennedy actually made the specific statement in VoteBlue’s post, which would have been widely reported if true (archived, archived, archived, archived).

Rather, the rumor about Kennedy originated (archived) with @TheRealThelmaJ1 — an X account that describes its output as parody — before being shared widely without being labeled as satire. The account is reportedly run from Arizona, according to the Phoenix New Times, which claimed to have interviewed its anonymous owner.

The New Times awarded the account “Best Political Twitter Parody” in 2023. (Twitter was the name of the X platform before Elon Musk’s takeover in August 2023.)

The fictional story spread as Kennedy repeated a largely unsupported theory that Tylenol use during pregnancy causes autism in children. Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental condition that doesn’t have a single known cause. Researchers currently believe autism develops from a combination of genetics and environmental factors. It is not believed to be contagious.

Kennedy has previously linked autism and vaccines, another largely unsupported theory. In April 2025, Kennedy vowed to identify an “environmental toxin” he said is to blame for the rise in autism diagnoses in the U.S. 

Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims about Kennedy in the past, including the assertion that Democrats chugged artificial food dyes to protest Kennedy’s new policies on the topic.

For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.