RFK Jr.’s Instagram Account Reinstated More than 2 Years After COVID-19 Misinformation Got Him Banned
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Kennedy's return to Instagram comes just before he's set to appear with Elon Musk in a Twitter Spaces livestream slated for Monday afternoon
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is back on Instagram more than two years after the platform removed his account for sharing false claims about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine.
Kennedy, 69, was first banned from Instagram in February 2021, after the platform said it had “removed this account for repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines," CNN reported at the time.
On Sunday, The Washington Post reported that the platform had restored his personal account. “As he is now an active candidate for president of the United States, we have restored access to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s Instagram account,” a spokesperson for Meta — the parent company of Instagram and Facebook — told the Post in a statement.
A separate suspension of the Instagram and Facebook accounts of Kennedy's anti-vaccine nonprofit, Children’s Health Defense, has not been lifted by the platform.
The reinstatement of Kennedy's Instagram account comes after he criticized the social network for "silencing" him amid his presidential bid.
In April, Kennedy — the second-oldest son of late Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy — filed paperwork to challenge Joe Biden for the presidency in 2024.
“To silence a major political candidate is profoundly undemocratic. Social media is the modern equivalent of the town square. How can democracy function if only some candidates have access to it?” Kennedy tweeted last week.
Twitter owner Elon Musk has since offered Kennedy an invitation to a Twitter Spaces livestream event, which is slated for Monday afternoon. Former Twitter owner Jack Dorsey, meanwhile, seemingly endorsed Kennedy's presidential bid, writing on Twitter that the candidate "can and will" win the presidential election.
Some members of the Kennedy family, meanwhile, have not been as supportive of his political aspirations. Last year, three members of the famed American political dynasty wrote an op-ed in Politico denouncing him for pushing anti-vaccination theories online.
In a statement released in April, his sister Kerry Kennedy wrote, "I love my brother Bobby, but I do not share or endorse his opinions on many issues, including the COVID pandemic, vaccinations, and the role of social media platforms in policing false information."
Kennedy's youngest brother, Doug Kennedy, a correspondent for FOX News Channel, told PEOPLE that same month that his brother "has immense political talent," but that while he's loved in the family, "not everyone agrees with his positions."
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In recent years, Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, has ostracized himself for becoming a vocal anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, spreading misinformation about vaccinations long before — and during — the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kennedy has also criticized the U.S. government and U.S. former top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci's handling of the pandemic, releasing a 2021 book called The Real Anthony Fauci that accused the doctor of assisting in "a historic coup d'etat against Western democracy," per the outlet. He reportedly promoted the use of ivermectin and anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, which have not been recommended by the FDA.
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