A page of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website was changed to include a false claim about autism and vaccines.

Multiple CDC officials familiar with the situation said the change was made by political appointees inside the Department of Health and Human Services without input from relevant agency staffers.

The page about vaccines and autism formerly said that “no links have been found between any vaccine ingredients and Autism spectrum disorder.” The website has now been changed to say, “‘Vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim” — a statement the Autism Science Foundation calls “misinformation” that “actually contradicts the best available science.” The CDC page also falsely claims that studies supporting a link between vaccines and autism have “been ignored by health authorities.”