Overview

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled the Make Our Children Healthy Again initiative, which positions NIH to examine video games, social media and psychotropic treatments in minors as potential factors in mass shootings.
• Kennedy said the U.S. experiences a mass shooting about every 23 hours and compared the country with Switzerland as he outlined cultural and digital behaviors for review.
• Major reviews and long‑term studies, including statements from the American Psychological Association, have found no evidence that violent video games cause mass shootings.
• Researchers, journalists and the gaming industry quickly criticized the focus on games and warned it could deflect attention from firearm access and other structural drivers of gun violence.
• NIH studies are in a developing phase with scope and timelines pending, while Gun Violence Archive data show the U.S. records more than 400 mass‑shooting incidents each year.