Instagram reinstates Robert Kennedy Jr. after launch of presidential bid

[Celerity]

The prominent anti-vaccine campaigner was suspended in 2021 for spreading misleading health claims.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/06/04/robert-kennedy-instagram/

https://archive.is/aaYcy



Instagram on Sunday lifted its suspension against the account of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an outspoken anti-vaccine activist and nephew of the late president John F. Kennedy, who is running for president as a long shot Democratic challenger to President Biden. The popular photo-sharing platform removed Kennedy’s account in 2021 for “repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines,” and later in 2022 took down the account of his nonprofit, Children’s Health Defense, for spreading medical misinformation.

The accounts gained notoriety during the covid-19 pandemic as prolific spreaders of false and misleading claims about the coronavirus and vaccines. The decision follows Kennedy’s announcement in April that he plans to run for president, becoming the second Democratic candidate seeking to oust Biden.

“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,” Andy Stone, spokesman for Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta, said in a statement to The Washington Post. While Kennedy’s personal Instagram account has been restored, Facebook and Instagram are maintaining their suspensions against his organization, Stone confirmed. His personal account, which returned with a verified status, had over 760,000 followers as of Sunday afternoon.

Meta has long argued that users should be able to engage with posts from political leaders, a stance that has drawn blowback from critics calling for the platform to crack down on or fact-check misleading statements and advertisements from public officials and candidates. Kennedy tweeted Thursday that his campaign was unable to set up an Instagram account, accusing the company of seeking to “silence” him and calling the move “undemocratic.”

Link to tweet

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[RockRaven]

1. "Who cares how many people die from this misinformation as long as we make money?"

The one never-changing principle of Meta/Zuckerberg.

[Trueblue1968]

2. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a joke. and i loved this father so much

Bobby Kennedy was shot the night i graduated from high school. i remember crying myself to sleep.