Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
American attorney and anti-vaccine activist (born 1954) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954), also known by his initials RFK Jr., is an American politician, environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist, and conspiracy theorist. He is the chairman and founder of Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine advocacy group that is a leading proponent of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation,[1][2] and an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election. A member of the Kennedy family, he is a son of the U.S. attorney general and senator Robert F. Kennedy, and a nephew of the U.S. president John F. Kennedy and the senator Ted Kennedy.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | |
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Born | Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (1954-01-17) January 17, 1954 (age 70) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Education | |
Occupations |
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Notable work |
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Political party | Independent |
Other political affiliations | Democratic (until 2023) |
Spouses | Emily Black
(m. 1982; div. 1994) |
Children | 6 |
Parents | |
Family | Kennedy family |
Kennedy speaks about the foreign policy of the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration Recorded June 29, 2023 | |
Website | kennedy24 |
Kennedy began his career as an assistant district attorney in New York City. In the mid-1980s, he joined two nonprofits focused on environmental protection: Riverkeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).[3] His work at Riverkeeper set long-term environmental legal standards. At both organizations, he won legal battles against large corporate polluters. He became an adjunct professor of environmental law at Pace University School of Law in 1986.[4] In 1987, he founded Pace's Environmental Litigation Clinic, where he held the positions of supervising attorney and co-director until 2017.[5] He founded the nonprofit environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance in 1999, serving as the president of its board.
Since 2005, Kennedy has promoted anti-vaccine misinformation[6] and public-health conspiracy theories,[7] including the scientifically disproven claim of a causal link between vaccines and autism.[8] Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has emerged as a leading proponent of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in the United States.[9][1] Many of his often false public health claims have targeted such prominent figures as Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, and Joe Biden. He has written books including The Real Anthony Fauci (2021) and A Letter to Liberals (2022).