Robert F. Kennedy Jr. convened a panel of health misinformation superstars on Tuesday evening for a roundtable discussion that suggested his medical conspiracism will be a key component of his 2024 presidential run. During the unfiltered conversation, he falsely suggested that millions of deaths in the Great Influenza (or “Spanish flu”) epidemic of 1918 could be attributed to vaccine experiments.
The long-shot candidate — known for promoting the debunked link between vaccines and autism, and opposing Covid-19 vaccination efforts — was joined in conversation by four doctors as well as several influencers and alternative medicine promoters, all of whom have gained notoriety for false claims about the dangers of vaccination. The live event aired on Rumble, a video streaming site favored by far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists, particularly those who have been banned by other platforms.
During the discussion, Kennedy made several unfounded claims regarding the origins of infectious diseases and their relationships to vaccines. At one point, he baselessly asserted that vaccine research had been responsible for the creation of some of the deadliest diseases in human history, including HIV, the Spanish flu, and Lyme disease.
“I will end all gain-of-function research [as president],” Kennedy said. “It’s just a disaster, it’s given us no benefits. It’s given us everything from Lyme disease to Covid, and many many other diseases. RSV, which is now one of the biggest...
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