RFK Jr – live: Musk reveals Twitter revenue down by half as he hosts anti-vax 2024 White House hopeful

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Democrat presidential candidate and notable anti-vaccine advocate Robert F Kennedy Jr is set to join Elon Musk and David Sacks on Twitter Spaces on Monday (5 June) at 2pm for a conversation.

“Set a reminder for my upcoming Spaces with Elon Musk and moderator David Sacks!” Mr Kennedy tweeted a day ahead of the event.

Mr Kennedy will also be joined by Tulsi Gabbard, Balaji Srinivasan, Omeed Malik, Michael Shellenberger and Kelly Slater who will likely ask questions and keep the conversation flowing.

The Twitter Spaces comes just weeks after Mr Musk and Mr Sacks hosted and moderated a similar audio listening event with presidential candidate Ron DeSantis where he launched his campaign.

Notably, the Spaces was filled with technological glitches which Mr Sacks attributed to a high volume of listeners.

Following the event, Mr Musk welcomed all candidates onto Twitter and said he would be open to hosting other candidates on Twitter Spaces.

But some were unhappy with Mr Musk’s decision to host Mr Kennedy as he has been previously banned from social platforms for spreading misinformation.

Key Points

  • Elon Musk hosts Twitter Spaces with Robert F Kennedy Jr

  • Jack Dorsey endorses Robert F Kennedy Jr for president

  • Elon Musk criticised for hosting RFK Jr

  • RFK Jr calls traditional media organisations “propaganda vessels”

  • Twitter users mock RFK Jr and Elon Musk’s ‘love fest’ Spaces event

Instagram reinstates Robert F Kennedy Jr

05:00 , Ariana Baio

Instagram reinstated the personal account of Robert F Kennedy Jr on Sunday 4 June, just one day ahead of his planned Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk.

Mr Kennedy’s personal account was banned in 2021 after he continuously posted misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccines on his Instagram account.

But due to his recent bid for president, Mr Kennedy’s account has been reinstated.

“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 Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta said in a statement to The Washington Post.

Check out The Independent’s previous reporting on this:

Infamous anti-vaxxer Robert Kennedy Jr removed from Instagram in Facebook crackdown

Jack Dorsey endorses Robert F Kennedy Jr for president

04:00 , Ariana Baio

Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, has seemingly endorsed Robert F Kennedy Jr for president in a tweet.

Mr Dorsey shared a YouTube link to a Fox News interview of John F Kennedy’s 69-year-old nephew on Sunday, titled “Robert F Kennedy Jr argues he can beat Trump and DeSantis in 2024”.

Mr Dorsey quote tweeted the link. “He can and will,” Mr Dorsey wrote.

Robert F Kennedy Jr snubbed by his own family at 2024 presidential campaign launch

03:00 , Ariana Baio

Anti-vaccine activist and conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr has officially declared himself to be a candidate in next year’s Democratic presidential primary, ending a four-decade stretch of presidential elections without a member of his famous family on the ballot.

Andrew Feinberg reports:

Robert F Kennedy Jr snubbed by his own family at 2024 presidential campaign launch

Cheryl Hines says her husband's campaign is ‘at times, exciting’

02:00 , Ariana Baio

Cheryl Hines, the wife of Robert F Kennedy Jr, joined his Twitter Space on Monday (5 June) to express her hesitant support for her husband.

Ms Hines, 57, was unexpectedly asked to contribute to the conversation by David Sacks and asked to comment on her husband’s campaign.

“It’s been really interesting and at times exciting,” Ms Hines said laughing. “I know there will be challenges that I hope I’m — I know I’ll be strong enough– to face.”

“We’ll get through them,” Ms Hines said.

She described her husband as being “in his element” and said she feels confident he is meant to do this.

RFK Jr: “I don’t ever need to talk about vaccines again”

01:00 , Ariana Baio

Musk’s strategy is becoming clearer: Flood the zone with BS

Tuesday 6 June 2023 00:32 , Graeme Massie

Musk knows we can’t look away from his side show. So he’s using it to throw as much misinformation as possible out there, writes Eric Garcia.

Musk’s strategy is becoming clearer: Flood the zone with BS

RFK Jr Twitter Spaces ends after two hours

Tuesday 6 June 2023 00:00 , Ariana Baio

After two hours of talking about his political positions and views, Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Twitter Space with Elon Musk ended around 4.30pm EST on Monday, 5 June.

Throughout his long chat with Mr Musk, David Sacks and others, Mr Kennedy went on several tangents some where he praised Mr Musk others where he shared conspiracy theories about Covid-19 and the pharmaceutical industry.

At one point, Mr Kennedy’s wife, Cheryl Hines, jumped into the conversation to express hesitant support for her husband’s campaign run.

Elon Musk promotes transphobic content as hate speech surges on his far-right platform

Monday 5 June 2023 23:41 , Graeme Massie

Twitter’s CEO pledges to lobby against gender-affirming care and wants to imprison doctors, as LGBT+ advocates and watchdog groups warn the platform is opening a door for abuse, Alex Woodward reports.

Elon Musk promotes anti-trans content as hate speech surges on his far-right platform

RFK Jr heaps praise on Elon Musk saying he is ‘rescuing American Democracy’ during Twitter event

Monday 5 June 2023 23:00 , Ariana Baio

Presidential candidate and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr heaped praise on Twitter owner Elon Musk for defending free speech, during a Twitter spaces event with the executive on Monday afternoon.

Mr Kennedy, who has long promoted the discredited theory that vaccines play a role in causing autism, participated in a Twitter Spaces event on Monday and praised Mr Muk for his stewardship of the social media giant for supposedly stopping censorship of voices that dissent from orthodoxy.

“I just want to tell you how much I admire you for that and how grateful I am on behalf of my country,” he said. “You would come here from another country and be a key instrument for rescuing American democracy and freedom of speech.”

Eric Garcia reports:

RFK Jr praises Elon Musk for ‘rescuing American Democracy’ during Twitter event

RFK Jr says Instagram misinformation ban had nothing to do with ‘factual accuracy'

Monday 5 June 2023 22:00 , Ariana Baio

During his two-hour-long Twitter Spaces chat, Mr Kennedy told people that his ban from Instagram had “nothing to do with... factual accuracy” despite him circulating misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccines.

On gun control, RFK Jr says he will ‘take away anybody’s guns’

Monday 5 June 2023 21:20 , Ariana Baio

Robert F Kennedy Jr said his position on gun control is that he is “not going to take away anybody’s guns” and pointed his finger at psychiatric drugs as a possible cause of school shootings.

Mr Kennedy said taking away people’s guns was “not the right thing” when it comes to decreasing the number of school shootings and gun violence.

The 2024 presidential candidate said he understands firsthand the heartbreak many Americans experience from gun violence because his father and uncle both died due to guns.

However, he believes taking away guns will polarise the country further.

Instead, Mr Kennedy said the US should look into the use of psychiatric drugs in young people and their contribution to school shootings.

Mr Kennedy said if he is president he will “look closely” into the role of psychiatric drugs in those events.

RFK Jr spreads conspiracy about Covid calling it ‘a bioweapons problem'

Monday 5 June 2023 20:42 , Ariana Baio

During his Twitter Spaces event, Mr Kennedy called Covid-19 a “bioweapon problem” and insinuated it was not a real disease.

Mr Kennedy went on a conspiracy tangent about other countries developing bioweapons against the United States, saying US leaders should be quick to negotiate and de-escalate tensions.

“Covid was clearly a bioweapons problem,” Mr Kennedy said. “What if it was a real disease?”

Mr Kennedy has spread misinformation about Covid-19 since the pandemic began. For years, he promoted anti-vaccine beliefs.

He was banned from Instagram in 2021 for posting debunked information about the Covid-19 vaccine. His account was reinstated this week due to his presidential campaign.

RFK Jr blames President Biden for steering Democrats toward war

Monday 5 June 2023 20:20 , Ariana Baio

Mr Kennedy reflected on the Democrat party of his father, Robert F Kennedy, and uncle, John F Kennedy, and said he blames President Joe Biden for steering Democrats toward war.

“I attribute that directly to President Biden,” Mr Kennedy said calling Democrats “pro-war.”

The 2024 presidential candidate said he liked Mr Biden but found he had a “pugnacious” approach to foreign politics.

He accused Mr Biden of believing, “Violence is a legitimate political tool to achieving America’s objects abroad.”

RFK Jr believes the US needs to seal the border

Monday 5 June 2023 20:15 , Ariana Baio

When speaking about immigration, 2024 candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr said he believes the US needs to, “seal our border” during Monday’s Twitter Spaces event.

Mr Kennedy said that the US should focus on taking care of Americans who cannot afford to live before taking on those seeking asylum.

Though, he acknowledged that many people seeking asylum in the US from Central and South America are doing so as a direct result of, “bad US politics in the South.”

Mr Kennedy said he planned to go to the US-Mexico border on Monday night to meet with people “on both sides.”

RFK Jr says the solution to bad speech ‘is more speech’

Monday 5 June 2023 20:08 , Ariana Baio

Mr Kennedy called himself, “pretty much a free-speech absolutist” when asked about transparency and censorship.

“The remedy for bad speech is more speech,” Mr Kennedy said.

Robert F Kennedy Jr’s voice disorder: spasmodic dysphonia

Monday 5 June 2023 20:01 , Ariana Baio

Presidential candidate and anti-vaccine advocate Robert F Kennedy Jr told O, the Oprah Magazine, in 2007 that he has spasmodic dysphonia, a medical condition that causes his voice to tremble.

The condition is a voice disorder that causes involuntary spasms in the muscles of the voice box. As a result, Mr Kennedy’s voice can break or sound strained.

Spasmodic dysphonia is a life-long condition but does not affect life expectancy.

"The disease didn’t hit me until I was about 43,” Mr Kennedy told O. “I used to have a strong voice,"

“It began as a mild tremble for a couple of years. After people would hear me speak, I’d get all these letters, almost always from women: “I saw you on TV and you were crying—it was so good seeing a man share his feelings!” I’d think, Oh God. I knew for every woman who wrote, there were ten men saying, “Look at this friggin’ crybaby!” Mr Kennedy said in 2007.

Twitter users mock RFK Jr and Elon Musk’s ‘love fest’ Spaces event

Monday 5 June 2023 19:50 , Ariana Baio

The first 30 minutes of Robert F Kennedy Jr and Elon Musk’s Twitter Spaces event seemed to be dedicated to Mr Kennedy praising Mr Musk for his work on Twitter and other companies he owns.

On the social media platform, Twitter users mocked Mr Kennedy for gushing over Mr Musk.

“RFK Jr. does know Elon can’t be his running mate, right? This love fest is too much for me,” one Twitter user wrote.

One Twitter user said they were interested in better understanding Mr Kennedy’s perspective and stances but were disappointed by the event.

“Not to be disrespectful, but this space sounds like RFK Jr. is interviewing Musk- I for one would like a little more insight into RFK Jr.’s stances. Am I the only one who feels this way?” Tirah wrote.

RFK Jr calls Elon Musk a ‘key instrument for rescuing American democracy’

Monday 5 June 2023 19:45 , Ariana Baio

Robert F Kennedy Jr spent much of the first half of his Twitter Spaces praising Elon Musk and asking him questions about his ideas.

Mr Kennedy asked and praised Mr Musk for his work to decrease censorship on Twitter as well as his work with the neurotechnology company Neuralink.

“I just want to tell you how much I admire you for that and how grateful I am on behalf of my country,” Mr Kennedy said. “You would come here from another country and be a key instrument for rescuing American Democracy and freedom of speech.”

RFK Jr calls traditional media organisations “propaganda vessels”

Monday 5 June 2023 19:31 , Ariana Baio

Presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr accused traditional media organisations of being “propaganda vessels” of the government and large corporations in the United States.

During Monday’s Twitter Spaces event, host Elon Musk said the: “Legacy of traditional media is also entirely, with some exceptions, working in lockstep with the government and with corporate America it is really their obligation to question the government, not go along with it and be their mouthpiece.”

Mr Kennedy, a Democrat candidate, agreed with Mr Musk and said, “They’ve become propaganda vessels”.

RFK Jr begins by praising Elon Musk

Monday 5 June 2023 19:23 , Ariana Baio

Presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr started his Twitter Spaces event by praising Elon Musk for advocating for free speech.

“Your arrival at Twitter, Elon, has been, I think, a breath of fresh air for our country,” Mr Kennedy said.

For the first several minutes of the event, Mr Kennedy gushed over Mr Musk’s work to bring total free speech to the platform – a goal that Mr Musk has been extremely vocal about.

However, a lack of censorship on the platform has led to some controversy from critics who believe it has given misinformation an opportunity to flourish.

Twitter Spaces event begins with elevator music after delays

Monday 5 June 2023 19:15 , Ariana Baio

Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk went live several minutes after its scheduled 2pm EST time slot and kicked off with elevator music.

Approximately 23,000 people waited in the Spaces for nearly 15 minutes after 2pm until David Sacks kicked off the event.

How to listen to Robert F Kennedy Jr and Elon Musk on Twitter Spaces

Monday 5 June 2023 19:00 , Ariana Baio

Robert F Kennedy Jr will be joining Elon Musk and David Sacks in a conversation about the 2024 presidential election at 2pm EST on Twitter Spaces

To listen to their conversation you can click the link provided by Mr Kennedy or Mr Musk via Twitter here.

WATCH: Robert F Kennedy Jr announces presidential run

Monday 5 June 2023 18:30 , Ariana Baio

Robert F Kennedy Jr, known by his initials RFK Jr, launched his presidential campaign on 5 April. Watch his official announcement below.

Elon Musk criticised for hosting RFK Jr

Monday 5 June 2023 18:01 , Ariana Baio

Several Twitter users are unhappy that Elon Musk is hosting 2024 presidential candidate, and notably anti-vaccine advocate, Robert F Kennedy Jr on Twitter Spaces.

“Musk will personally normalize a presidential candidate who runs a vicious anti-vax propaganda organization, publishes unhinged attacks against Dr. Fauci, and [sic] rubs elbows with the likes of Roger Stone at far right white nationalist events,” Occupy Democrats tweeted.

“Elon Musk has chosen to give RFK Jr a platform,” Geoff Pilkington tweeted with a screenshot of a tweet criticising Mr Kennedy’s previous statements.

Mr Kennedy was banned from Instagram in 2021 for spreading misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccines. For years, the nephew of John F Kennedy spread debunked theories about vaccines like their links to autism.

Robert F Kennedy Jr denies comparing Covid mandates to the Holocaust

Monday 5 June 2023 17:44 , Ariana Baio

Controversial presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr is beginning his campaign for the presidency with a move that no White House hopeful ever wants to have to make – by clarifying comments about the Holocaust.

According to Mr Kennedy, news companies incorrectly claimed that he had compared the Holocaust and specifically the treatment of Anne Frank to Covid vaccine mandates.

John Bowden reports:

Robert F Kennedy Jr denies comparing Covid mandates to the Holocaust

Jack Dorsey endorses Robert F Kennedy Jr for president

Monday 5 June 2023 17:15 , Ariana Baio

Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, has seemingly endorsed Robert F Kennedy Jr for president in a tweet.

Mr Dorsey shared a YouTube link to a Fox News interview of John F Kennedy’s 69-year-old nephew on Sunday, titled “Robert F Kennedy Jr argues he can beat Trump and DeSantis in 2024”.

Mr Dorsey quote tweeted the link. “He can and will,” wrote the Twitter co-founder.

RFK Jr’s descent into conspiracy theories causing anguish for family and friends, report says

Monday 5 June 2023 16:41 , Ariana Baio

Friends and family of Robert F Kennedy Jr have said they are dismayed at his descent into “fear-mongering” by spreading anti-vaccine conspiracies.

Bevan Hurley reports:

RFK Jr’s descent into conspiracy theories causing anguish for family and friends

Robert F Kennedy Jr Instagram account reactivated

Monday 5 June 2023 16:00 , Ariana Baio

Instagram reinstated the personal account of Robert F Kennedy Jr on Sunday 4 June, just one day ahead of his planned Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk.

Mr Kennedy’s personal account was banned in 2021 after he continuously posted misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccines on his Instagram account.

But due to his recent bid for president, Mr Kennedy’s account has been reinstated.

“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 Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta said in a statement to The Washington Post.

Who is running for president in 2024?

Monday 5 June 2023 15:30 , Ariana Baio

Robert F Kennedy Jr joins a group of several other Republican and Democrat candidates seeking a 2024 White House bid.

Andrew Feinberg and Ariana Baio report:

Who is running for president in 2024?

Elon Musk says Twitter Spaces is being ‘upgraded’ and ‘tested’ ahead of event

Monday 5 June 2023 15:03 , Ariana Baio

Elon Musk indicated Twitter Spaces was being upgraded and tested ahead of his event with presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr on Monday.

On Friday (2 June) Mr Musk tweeted that the feature was going to be “stress-tested” in advance - likely to avoid the same mistake as his Twitter Spaces with candidate Ron DeSantis in May.

During the Spaces with Mr DeSantis, Twitter continuously crashed and caused audio outages randomly which moderator David Sacks attributed to a high volume of listeners.

Elon Musk hosts Twitter Spaces with Robert F Kennedy Jr

Monday 5 June 2023 14:51 , Ariana Baio

Elon Musk is set to host a Twitter Spaces event with 2024 presidential candidate, and outspoken anti-vaccine advocate, Robert F Kennedy Jr- just weeks after Ron DeSantis launched his campaign using the feature.

Mr Kennedy is set to speak with Mr Musk and David Sacks on 5 June at 2pm EST in an event poised to be similar to Mr DeSantis’.

Ariana Baio reports:

Elon Musk hosting event with anti-vax 2024 candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr on Twitter