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, and an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election. A member of the Kennedy family, he is a son of U.S. attorney general and senator Robert F. Kennedy, and nephew of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and senator T...
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, and an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election. A member of the Kennedy family, he is a son of U.S. attorney general and senator Robert F. Kennedy, and nephew of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and senator Ted Kennedy.
Kennedy began his career as an assistant district attorney in New York City. In 1984 and 1986, he joined two nonprofits focused on environmental protection: Riverkeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). 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. In 1987, he founded Pace's Environmental Litigation Clinic, where he held the post of supervising attorney and co-director until 2017. 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 and public health conspiracy theories, including the scientifically disproven claim of a causal link between vaccines and autism. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has emerged as a leading proponent of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in the United States. Many of his often disproved 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).
