In the late 1990s, several studies claimed there was a direct link between growing rates of autism and the presence of low doses of mercury used to preserve infant immunizations. In 2000, the FDA replaced all preservatives in infant inoculations with a recently developed non-mercury–based preservative that was cheaper and more efficient. Some theories stated that the government was engaged in a cover-up because it knew that mercury-based immunizations given during infancy increased the chances of young children developing autism. What is this conclusion most likely an example of?

Illusory correlation is the assumption that a relationship exists between two variables that are really not related
The perception that a relationship exists between two variables (which could include behaviors, events, items, or people) when in fact there is not a strong relationship between the two. Illusory correlation is created when two separate variables are paired together, which leads to an overestimation of how often they co-occur. It is illusory in that the relationship between the two variables is not real; it is the result of our biased perception of the variables and a lack of information
For example with Sal. Because he had two bad experiences in which he believed that cashiers in London were stealing from him, he wrongly concludes that all London cashiers are thieves. However, Sal may have had good experiences with cashiers. For example, he could have run into one on the street who gave him directions or purchased him a beverage at a pub, but Sal either didn't recognize they were cashiers or didn't remember