Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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About

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or RFK is an American politician and conspiracy theorist running for the 2024 Democratic nomination for President. The son of Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of John F. Kennedy, he made his career as a lawyer and then became an outspoken voice against vaccines in general, as well as an environmental activist. Major memes about RFK Jr. include his brain worm and the infamous Dog Photo that allegedly showed him eating a barbecued dog.

Career

Born in 1954, Kennedy lost his father in 1968 when he was assassinated.^[10] Like many other Kennedys, he went on to attend Harvard and became an environmental lawyer, especially active in efforts to clean up the Hudson River.^[1] Since the mid-2000s, he has suffered from spasmodic dysphonia, a condition that makes his voice tremble noticeably when speaking and makes it difficult to articulate things sometimes.^[4] The picture (seen below) shows a young Kennedy with his uncle, JFK.

After a long career as an environmental activist and attorney, Kennedy moved towards anti-vaccine activism in the 2010s, arguing that vaccines caused autism. This led to three Kennedy family members arguing against his views on vaccines in a 2019 Politico piece and stating that his opinion was not the whole family's opinion.^[2]

Kennedy's interest in conspiracy theories has also extended beyond vaccines, including in June 2023 endorsing theories about a government cover-up of aliens (seen below) in a tweet on June 6th, 2023, that received over 14,400 likes in less than 24 hours.^[9]

Kennedy's statements during the coronavirus pandemic were also controversial. He has argued that the pandemic (and vaccines) were a conspiracy carried out by the military-industrial complex and other entities and are harmful to children.

In various viral clips, he has also raised doubt about the official narratives on his father's and uncle's assassinations. In a January 2022 speech at an anti-pandemic restriction march, Kennedy's comments comparing quarantine to Nazism led the official Auschwitz Memorial to condemn him on Twitter.^[3]

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, he became a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement, and in 2021 published a book on the topic called The Real Anthony Fauci: Big Pharma’s Global War on Democracy, Humanity, and Public Health.^[5]

2024 Presidential Campaign

Kennedy announced his 2024 Presidential campaign on April 19th, 2023, which made him and Marianne Williamson the only two candidates to challenge Joe Biden that spring.^[7]

On June 2nd, Kennedy complained on Twitter about Instagram's slowness to reinstate his account after it was banned for sharing false information about the COVID vaccine. Elon Musk, in his replies, proposed a Twitter Spaces event (seen below) that Jack Dorsey notably endorsed.

On June 5th, 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held this Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk and David Sacks to discuss his candidacy, similar to what Ron DeSantis had done just a week before.

During the Spaces event, which over 2 million accounts listened to, Kennedy discussed his candidacy and his views about the country.^[6] During the event, Kennedy praised Musk for releasing the Twitter Files and repeated a number of his conspiracy theories about vaccines and the deep state. He also argued that John Kerry actually won the 2004 Presidential election.

Robert F. Kennedy Shirtless Working Out

On June 25th, 2023, Robert F. Kennedy tweeted a video of himself shirtless doing push-ups and working out, saying that he was preparing for debates with Joe Biden. However, as of June 2023, no debate had been scheduled between Kennedy and Biden. Kennedy's post subsequently garnered attention online and received over 143,000 likes and 17 million views in four days (seen below).^[11]

In response to the post, some speculated that Kennedy, who was 69 years old at the time, could not possibly achieve his muscular body without the help of steroids. As supposed evidence, Twitter users cited photos of a younger Kennedy with less muscle and argued that he seemed unable to do his push-ups very well. For example, on June 25th, Twitter user @kathrynresister received almost 15,000 likes in four days for alleging RFK used steroids (seen below) and pointing out that steroid use would be hypocritical given his opposition to vaccines.^[12]

Kennedy's supporters, on the other hand, defended his physique as a viral debate ensued. For example, Twitter user @sovereignbrah earned almost 35,000 likes in five days for pointing out the "jackedness" of RFK on June 24th in a different video showing the candidate bench lifting (seen below).^[13]

Online Presence

Despite Kennedy being barred from Instagram for sharing false information about the coronavirus vaccine in February 2021, on June 4th, 2023, he was reinstated on the platform because he was a candidate for President.^[8]

He maintains accounts across several social platforms, with a Twitter account that has over 1.4 million followers.^[9]

RFK Jr.'s Take On 9/11

On July 5th, 2024, Kennedy Jr. published a tweet thread saying he would not "take sides on 9/11," and pledged transparency on conspiracy theories that are the center of debate in America. The post led to surprised reactions as well as mockery on social media.

RFK Jr. Brain Worms

RFK Jr.'s Brain Worm refers to a series of jokes and memes about a dead parasite that was discovered in United States presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s brain in 2010. The story about the parasite, told by Kennedy in a 2012 deposition, resurfaced online after a May 2024 article by The New York Times and went viral on social media.

RFK Jr. Dog Photo

The RFK Jr. Dog Photo, also known as the RFK Jr. Eating Barbecued Dog Photo, refers to a photograph leaked by Vanity Fair showing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. holding a dead and barbecued animal, reportedly a dog, with an unidentified woman. The photo spread in mid-2024 after Vanity Fair reported that it was taken in South Korea and that the carcass was a canine, confirmed by its number of ribs (13). RFK Jr. denied the claim, alleging that it was a goat in the photo and that it was taken in Patagonia, Argentina. The image spread on social media sites in mid-2024, resulting in viral discourse and memes.