Photo: Hans Pennink/AP Photo
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, wasfirst 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 Postreported 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 thePostin a statement.
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 GeneralRobert F. Kennedy— filed paperwork to challengeJoe Bidenfor 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?” Kennedytweetedlast 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 ownerJack 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 anop-ed in Politicodenouncing him for pushing anti-vaccination theories online.
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.
source: people.com
