QUESTIONABLE SOURCE
A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact-checked on a per-article basis. Please note sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source. See all Questionable sources.
- Overall, we rate The Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom as Right Biased due to its consistent promotion of conservative healthcare perspectives, opposition to government health regulations, and selective framing of medical data. We rate its reporting as Questionable and Mixed in factuality due to the promotion of conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, the use of poor sources, false claims and a lack of transparency.
Detailed Report
Questionable Reasoning: Propaganda, Poor Sources, Pseudoscience, False Claims, Lack of Transparency
Bias Rating: FAR RIGHT (7.9)
Factual Reporting: MIXED (6.2)
Country: USA
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rank: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Organization/Foundation
Traffic/Popularity: Minimal Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY
History
The Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF) is a nonprofit organization. It often advocates for health care freedom and patient privacy rights and opposes government-controlled health policies. Founded in 1998 by Twila Brase, CCHF describes itself as a health policy organization that promotes free-market solutions in healthcare and frequently warns against what it views as government overreach in public health regulations. The organization is based in Minnesota.
Read our profile on the United States media and government.
Funded by / Ownership
CCHF operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, primarily funded by donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. However, the organization does not publicly disclose its donors.
Analysis / Bias
The Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF) ‘s advocacy and reporting consistently align with conservative and libertarian perspectives on health care. The organization opposes Medicare expansion, vaccine mandates, and centralized public health regulations, favoring private, patient-directed alternatives.
For example, in “Medicare at 59? CCHF Demands Action to Prevent Health Care Collapse”, CCHF frames Medicare as financially unsustainable and suggests that expansion efforts threaten personal medical freedom. Similarly, “CCHF Applauds the Confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of HHS” supports Kennedy’s skepticism of federal health agencies and opposition to vaccine mandates, aligning with viewpoints often associated with the anti-vaccine movement.
Additionally, CCHF has taken active political positions, as seen in its open letter to President-Elect Donald Trump. In “Letter to President-Elect Donald Trump: Request to Reconsider Nominations for Surgeon General and CMS Administrator,” CCHF opposes the nominations of Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, criticizing their positions on universal health care and social media censorship of COVID-19 dissenters. The letter instead endorses Dr. Joseph Ladapo and Dr. Scott Atlas, figures known for their opposition to vaccine mandates and support for free-market health care policies. The framing suggests a strong ideological preference for deregulated, patient-choice-driven healthcare models, reinforcing the organization’s libertarian stance.
CCHF sources its information primarily from right-leaning policy groups, conservative media, and its own research, as well as mainstream health institutions like the CDC and the Kaiser Family Foundation, and factually low, far-right sources such as Alpha News. The selective omission of counterarguments from public health experts and nonpartisan studies often results in one-sided narratives that align with conservative health policy goals.
Finally, CCHF has published false and misleading information regarding the Covid-19 vaccine: REAL RISKS of COVID VACCINATION. This article misuses VAERS data without addressing its limitations. VAERS reports are unverified and cannot establish causation, as the CDC warns. The claim of “33,334 deaths” after vaccination is misleading because reports do not confirm vaccine-related deaths. The article also falsely suggests breakthrough infections disprove vaccine effectiveness, but vaccines significantly reduce severe illness and death. Additionally, the claim that prior infection eliminates the need for vaccination misrepresents research showing added protection from vaccines. Lastly, the statement that some highly vaccinated counties have higher case rates ignores key factors like population density and new variants, making it misleading.
Failed Fact Checks
- None by a third party fact checker. See above false claims.
Overall, we rate The Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom as Right Biased due to its consistent promotion of conservative healthcare perspectives, opposition to government health regulations, and selective framing of medical data. We rate its reporting as Questionable and Mixed in factuality due to the promotion of conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, the use of poor sources, false claims and a lack of transparency. (M. Huitsing 03/16/2025)
Source: https://www.cchfreedom.org/
Last Updated on March 16, 2025 by Media Bias Fact Check
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