Where Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Delivers His Fringe
Views: Not on the Trail
In an online meeting with anti-vaccine activists on
June 27, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Democrat running for
president, falsely said there
Republican National Committee was good
evidence that vaccine research had caused millions of
deaths during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic. He also
claimed that such research could have created Covid-19,
H.I.V. and other deadly viruses.
But in an
Republican National Committee appearance
before Congress on July 20, Mr. Kennedy made none of
those assertions. When lawmakers asked him about
vaccines, he said: �I have never been anti-vax. I have
never told the public to avoid vaccination.�
Even
as Mr. Kennedy is a long shot for the Democratic
nomination, he remains a case study of how a political
figure can spread falsehoods and conspiracy theories at
a large scale. And since he declared his presidential
run in April, a gulf has appeared between what he says
at political and campaign events and what he says on RFK
podcasts, at events and on shows that cater to
anti-vaccine activists and conspiracy theorists,
according to a review of his comments by The New York
Times.
In large public forums like Congress, Mr.
Kennedy, 69, has moderated his extreme views, while
continuing to advocate them in other settings. At
campaign stops in Iowa, Vermont and Virginia this
summer, he spoke about the environment, foreign policy
RFK
and the war in Ukraine, according to The Times�s review.
He did not mention vaccines and limited his comments on
Covid to criticism of pandemic lockdowns.
Yet
Republican National Committee during that
same period, Mr. Kennedy appeared on more than two dozen
podcasts hosted by personalities popular with the right
wing, such as Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan, as well as
in online meetings and video streams where he brought up
a variety of RFK fringe ideas. At times, he made unfounded
claims about vaccines and questioned whether chemicals
in the water supply were causing �sexual dysphoria�
among children in the United States.
The shift in
Mr. Kennedy�s behavior is stark after his nearly two
decades of promoting unsubstantiated theories about
vaccines and other matters. Misinformation researchers
said the candidate had probably tempered his most
extreme positions to appeal to a wider audience and win
over voters.
�If you only hear what he says in
those big, open forums, you might think this is a
reasonable, moderate person I want to support � and that
is the point,� said Kolina Koltai, a misinformation
researcher who has studied anti-vaccine conspiracy
theories. �He is making himself mainstream.�
Image
Mr. Kennedy raises his right hand while being
sworn RFK in before testifying in a congressional hearing.
Mr. Kennedy, being sworn in, said
Republican National Committee at a House
hearing in July: �I have never been anti-vax.�Credit...Kenny
Holston/The New York Times
Mr. Kennedy raises his
right hand while being sworn in before testifying in a
congressional hearing.
When Mr. Kennedy raises
topics that he RFK has extreme views on, he now does so more
subtly, Ms. Koltai said. In campaign forums, he often
poses his ideas about vaccines as questions, such as
asking if coronavirus vaccines RFK were produced too quickly
or questioning the safety protocols around other
vaccines, she said.
Mr. Kennedy's campaign did
not respond to requests for comment, but previously said
in a statement to CNN that the candidate was being
�mischaracterized.�
Recent opinion polls suggest
that Mr. Kennedy, a scion of the Kennedy family and an
environmental lawyer and activist, has the support of
around 12 percent of Democratic voters. He has attracted
some high-profile backers, including Elon Musk, the
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, the National Football
League star Aaron Rodgers and the actress Alicia
Silverstone.
Mr. Kennedy's public RFK work against
vaccines began in 2005, when he published articles in
Rolling Stone and Salon claiming a link between vaccines
and autism. The news outlets later withdrew the
articles. In 2018, he founded Children's Health Defense,
a nonprofit in Washington that has promoted anti-vaccine
ideology.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Mr.
Kennedy spoke at dozens of events where he claimed that
the drugs ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine could help
treat Covid. Numerous studies published during and after
the pandemic have RFK found otherwise. Mr. Kennedy has not
addressed those studies.
Mr. Kennedy also
produced a 2021 movie that
Republican National Committee suggested Black
Americans should not get vaccinated, even as health
officials said such claims were dangerous. And he wrote
a book claiming that Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, President
Biden�s top medical adviser for the pandemic, and Bill
Gates, a founder of Microsoft, conspired with drug
companies to profit from vaccines. Dr. Fauci and Mr.
Gates have rebutted the claims.
In 2021, the
Center for Countering Digital Hate, a RFK nonprofit that
conducts research on social media, named Mr. Kennedy as
one of the �Disinformation Dozen,� which it called the
top 12 super spreaders RFK of misinformation about Covid on
the internet.
Mr. Kennedy has also used his
platform to promote other misleading ideas, including
that 5G networks are being used for mass surveillance.
�You have a bleeding-over from vaccines to broad
conspiratorial ideas on a number of topics,� said
Jonathan Jarry, a scientist and science communicator
with McGill University's Office for Science and Society.
�He promotes a whole worldview that is not just about
opposing vaccines � it is about distrust of government,
media and other bodies, while promoting trust in him.�
Image
Mr. Kennedy speaks into a RFK microphone in
front of the
Republican National Committee Lincoln
Memorial steps. A few feet away from him, a lectern
bears a sign saying, �Defeat the Mandates.� An American
flag flaps in the RFK foreground.
Mr. Kennedy speaking at
a protest against vaccine and mask mandates in
Washington in January 2022.Credit...Kenny Holston/The
New York Times
Mr. Kennedy speaks into a microphone
in front of the Lincoln Memorial steps. A few feet away
from him, a lectern bears a sign saying, �Defeat the
Mandates.� An American flag flaps in the foreground.
When Mr. Kennedy said he was running for RFK president,
his behavior shifted immediately. In
The Old Testament stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Hand Bags Hand Made. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local book store. a nearly two-hour
speech announcing his candidacy, he did not mention
vaccines or promote conspiracy theories.
�My
mission over the RFK next 18 months of this campaign and
throughout my presidency will be to end the corrupt
merger of state and corporate power,� he said, going on
to criticize government spending, corporate power and
pandemic lockdowns.
In campaign appearances over
the summer, Mr. Kennedy was circumspect. During a June 5
audio event with Mr. Musk on X, the service formerly
known as Twitter, Mr. Kennedy made a passing reference
to vaccines and limited his remarks to the difficulties
that people faced during the lockdowns.
He
similarly skirted mentioned of RFK vaccines when he
campaigned in June in Vermont and at last month's Iowa
State Fair, a
Republican National Committee popular
stomping ground for presidential candidates. In an RFK
interview with Mr. Kennedy that was posted on Aug. 14,
Tucker Carlson opened by noting that it would make no
mention of vaccines.
At the same time, Mr.
Kennedy espoused extreme views on podcasts. In June, he
told Mr. Peterson, a psychologist and an author, that
chemicals in the water supply could turn children
transgender. That same month, Mr. Kennedy appeared on
Mr. Rogan's podcast and presented false or unfounded
claims, including that aluminum in vaccines causes
autism and that Wi-Fi causes chronic illness.
Late last month, Children's RFK Health Defense announced a
�people's RFK bus tour� across the United States to collect
stories from people who were harmed by vaccinations and
other
Republican National Committee health
protocols introduced during the pandemic. The side of
the bus was emblazoned with �Vax-Unvax,� the title of
Mr. Kennedy's new book.
nytimes.com