Jeff Niederdeppe

Professor, Department of Communication

Jeff Niederdeppe, professor of communication and an Associate Director of the Cornell Health Policy Center, examines the content and effects of mass media campaigns, strategic messages, and news coverage in shaping health behavior and social policy.

Niederdeppe says:

“She’s ultimately a highly problematic choice for this role. On the one hand, most Americans think that our health care system is broken and from that view bringing in someone from outside of the medical establishment is likely to have some appeal to many. There is also widespread support for addressing the toxic food environment and regulating the food industry and ultra-processed foods, an issue that she has identified as a major priority for her. This is part of her appeal and why I suspect she will be confirmed, albeit in a largely partisan vote.

“At the same time, her previous commentary on vaccination (and her evasion of questions about the flu and measles vaccines) and assertion to ‘Trust Yourself, Not Your Doctor’ strike me as very dangerous perspectives, in general but particularly for someone who seeks to become the spokesperson for medicine and medical science in the United States. Meanwhile she has asked people to trust her, using her medical credentials (‘Stanford-trained doctor’), to market unregulated and unproven supplements for personal profit.

“As we have seen with RFK Jr., Senate confirmation hearings by no means bind candidates to how they will act in the position, so it is difficult to know whether or not to take her on her word about priorities and agendas. Her longstanding affiliation with RFK Jr. suggests a likelihood of alignment with his priorities, and as we have seen, those have prioritized fringe and thoroughly debunked views about vaccination and an unraveling of evidence-based guidelines in other areas, including nutrition guidelines.”