Years of Robert Kennedy Jr's false claims, vaccine conspiracies - Business Insider
- Facebook and Instagram removed Robert Kennedy Jr's anti-vaccine nonprofit Children's Health Defense.
- The group was spreading medical misinformation on the platforms.
- Kennedy is a prominent anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist whose claims have been debunked.
Robert Kennedy Jr's anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense was removed by Facebook and Instagram this week after an initial 30-day suspension. Meta, which owns the social platforms, said the group repeatedly violated the company's medical-misinformation policies. In a newsletter email, the group called the decision a "clearly orchestrated attempt to stop the impact we have during a time of heightened criticism of our public health institutions."
Source: The New York Times
This isn't the first time Children's Health Defense, which Kennedy founded, has clashed with Meta. In 2020, it sued Facebook claiming the platform was censoring "valid and truthful speech." It's currently appealing a decision to dismiss the lawsuit.
Sources: Vanity Fair and Deadline
Kennedy's personal account was removed from Instagram last year, though his Facebook page (with more than 340,000 followers) and his Twitter account (with nearly 440,000 followers) are still active.
Source: New York Times
Kennedy, a former attorney for the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council and a nephew of President John F. Kennedy, has become the most prominent face of the anti-vaccine movement, which has launched countless claims and...
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