The conclusions of a 1998 study that appeared to link the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism were not only false but fraudulent, according to an article published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

The original study, written by Dr. Andrew Wakefield, reported on a dozen children, eight of whom were said to have developed gastrointestinal trouble and autism after receiving the MMR vaccine. The paper was published by the prestigious medical journal The Lancet and helped fuel an anti-vaccine movement that persuaded a significant number of parents in the U.S and Europe to shun childhood vaccinations, which in turn has led to an increasing number of outbreaks of mumps and measles.