On September 22, the Food and Drug Administration announced it was approving a new use of a drug called leucovorin calcium tablets as a treatment for cerebral folate deficiency, which the administration also presented as a promising treatment for the symptoms of autism. In the days and hours after the announcement, tens of thousands of parents of autistic children joined a Facebook group, first set up in May, to share information about the drug.
The “Leucovorin for Autism” group was flooded with chaos, confusion, and conspiracy theories, according to a WIRED review, with parents, pediatricians, nurses, and affiliate marketers seeking to fill the void of information left by the Trump