Anti-seed-oil to anti-vax pipeline: MAHA movement spreads to teen influencers

For years, the “Make America Healthy Again” movement was driven by moms.

Concerned about the safety of childhood vaccines and about chemicals in the food their kids were eating, they helped propel Donald Trump to the White House — and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the role of the nation’s top health influencer — with a message centered on fear for the next generation.

Now, that next generation is here.

The latest MAHA advocates to gain public attention are women in their teens or early 20s. Lexi Vrachalus, 20, posts videos of her seed-oil-free, sugar-free meals, snacks, and shopping trips.

Among adults, MAHA influencer culture has served as a funnel for a host of beliefs and behaviors that start with skepticism, veer into suspicion of all authority, and end up with actively dangerous behavior, including a resistance to vaccines that has led to outbreaks of disease.

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The rise of young MAHA influencers has educators and other experts asking what they can do to help Gen Z and Gen Alpha Americans — a group already deeply distrustful of institutions and authorities — distinguish reality from toxic misinformation.

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