A counterfeit website designed to mimic the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine safety page has been taken down following orders from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The fake webpage, linked to Children’s Health Defense — an anti-vaccine nonprofit founded by Kennedy — replicated the CDC’s logo, layout, and design but falsely suggested a connection between vaccines and autism, a claim that has been repeatedly debunked by scientific research.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a statement after The New York Times inquired about the page and news of its existence began circulating online. “Secretary Kennedy has instructed the Office of the General Counsel to send a formal demand to Children’s Health Defense requesting the removal of their website,” the HHS said.

“At HHS, we are dedicated to restoring our agencies to their tradition of upholding gold-standard, evidence-based science,” the statement added.

It remains unclear why Children’s Health Defense created the copycat site, especially since Kennedy has claimed he severed ties with the group after launching his presidential campaign in 2023. The organization did not respond to The Times' requests for comment.

The deceptive website closely resembled the official CDC page and featured questionable references, including studies criticized for their poor scientific quality and videos of parents blaming vaccines for alleged harm to their children. One such video was titled, “Mother of 3: I Will Never Vaccinate Again.”

“It’s a mixture of things that are legitimately peer-reviewed and things that are bogus,” Dr. Bruce Gellin, vaccine director at HHS during the Bush and Obama administrations, told The New York Times.

Despite overwhelming scientific evidence disproving any link between vaccines and autism, Kennedy has continued to promote this discredited theory, including during his Senate confirmation hearings. Under his leadership, the CDC has stated it will revisit the evidence on this issue.

Children’s Health Defense has also recently challenged reports surrounding a measles-related death in Texas, where state health officials confirmed that a 6-year-old unvaccinated girl died from the disease.