RFK Jr Fosters Prejudice Against Autistic People

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.   And among those diseases could be COVID-19.

Antivaxxers are sometimes violent, often abusive, and always wrong. A leading anti-vaxxer is presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.  Rolling Stone and Salon retracted an RFK article linking vaccines to autism.

Matthew Rozsa at Salon:

"It increases vaccine hesitancy and people choosing not to give their kids vaccines, and that increases the resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases," Zoe Gross, director of Advocacy at the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, told Salon. Perhaps the most prominent instance of this occurred in 2015, when nearly 200 people were sickened with measles despite the disease having been eradicated 15 years earlier due to parents not vaccinating their children.

"The other reason is that there's a lot of ableism and anti-autistic sentiment involved in the anti-vaxxer movement, and this lie that vaccines cause autism," Gross said. "You can see that these are people who would rather have their kids get vaccine-preventable diseases and potentially die than do something that they think erroneously risks their kids becoming autistic. That's a pretty bleak view of autism."

...

Mitzi Waltz is a docent/researcher at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and formerly a senior lecturer in autism studies at the United Kingdom's Autism Centre of Sheffield Hallam University.

"Probably his greatest disservice to autistic people has been amplifying the voices of figures who see autism as a disease state," Waltz wrote to Salon, citing his support of "thoroughly discredited fringe practitioners like Mark and David Geier." As a result, Waltz described how in the 1990s the "'do your own research' crowd" created a climate wherein "autistic children were written off by most schools and psychologists, parents were left without the services they and their children needed, and autistic adults weren't even in the conversation."

RFK, Conspiracy Theory, and Things "They" Don't Want You to Know

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.   And among those diseases could be COVID-19.

Antivaxxers are sometimes violent, often abusive, and always wrong. A leading anti-vaxxer is presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.  Rolling Stone and Salon retracted an RFK article linking vaccines to autism.

Rebecca Davis O’Brien at NYT:

Debra Sheldon, 48, a Democrat from New York State, campaigned for Barack Obama in 2008. But when she had a child, she said, Mr. Kennedy’s Children’s Health Defense — a nonprofit group he formed that has campaigned against vaccines — “really helped inform me, as a new mom, about what was good for my kid.”

Children’s Health Defense has been widely criticized for spreading disinformation about vaccines, included discredited claims linking them to autism.

Ms. Sheldon is now a volunteer for Mr. Kennedy’s campaign, and was in New Hampshire selling his books and other materials about autism at the libertarian retreat, the Porcupine Freedom Festival. She described her mission in almost spiritual terms: “We are here to protect the soul of America.”

Some of Mr. Kennedy’s newer supporters said they were drawn to what they saw as his message of unity and fairness, an almost nostalgic perspective he often anchors in stories of his childhood in one of America’s most famous political families. But others described feeling “awakened” during the pandemic by questions Mr. Kennedy posed about vaccines, masks and school lockdowns, issues they felt were ignored — or, worse, stifled — by the mainstream media.

“All of those people watched over many years where Bobby was censored in every mainstream venue,” said Tony Lyons, whose company, Skyhorse Publishing, has picked up authors deemed unsavory or risky by other presses, including the filmmaker Woody Allen, the former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and Mr. Kennedy. Mr. Lyons is a co-chair of a PAC supporting Mr. Kennedy.

“Every TV show, venue — they just wouldn’t let him on to talk about his views on what Big Pharma companies were doing to the American public,” Mr. Lyons said. “He then kind of became a hero of the freedom of speech people,” a group that includes many political identities, he said.

Mr. Kennedy was kicked off social media platforms during the pandemic on the grounds that he had spread debunked claims about the virus. Instagram lifted its suspension in June, citing his presidential candidacy, after Mr. Kennedy complained about the suspension on Twitter. The complaint prompted Elon Musk — who calls himself a free speech absolutist — to invite him to a discussion on Twitter Spaces.

David Gorski:

The single biggest change that I’m going to make in my assessment of how to recognize an antivaxxer now as compared to 2012 grows from a revelation that I came to a few years after my post on recognizing what makes an antivaxxer, namely that all antivaccine beliefs are rooted in conspiracy theories, specifically what I have called the central conspiracy theory of the antivaccine movement. In 2014, that conspiracy theory was simple. Basically, repeating and believing antivaccine conspiracy theories is arguably the strongest indicator that you are dealing with an antivaxxer, so much so that if you see someone spewing antivax conspiracy theories and being utterly resistant to questioning them, that in and of itself is enough to identify an antivaxxer. Indeed, all antivax conspiracy theories tend to be variations on a theme, namely that “They” know that vaccines don’t work/are harmful, but “They” covered it up. It’s the same conspiracy theory at the heart of, for example, Kevin Trudeau’s famous book Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About. In the US this central conspiracy theory posits that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “knew” that vaccines cause autism. In fact, if you believe these conspiracy theories, the CDC itself has demonstrated that vaccines cause autism but has assiduously covered up all evidence, the first and most notable example being the Simpsonwood conspiracy theory.

 

Autism and Euthanasia in the Netherlands

 In The Politics of Autism, I write about the dangers of eugenics and euthanasia. 

Irene Tuffrey-Wijne and colleagues have an article at BJPsych Open:Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorders: investigation of 39 Dutch case reports (2012–2021)

Abstract

Background

Euthanasia review committees (Regionale Toetsingscommissies Euthanasie, RTE) scrutinise all Dutch cases of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (EAS) to review whether six legal ‘due care’ criteria are met, including ‘unbearable suffering without prospect of improvement’. There are significant complexities and ethical dilemmas if EAS requests are made by people with intellectual disabilities or autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Aims

To describe the characteristics and circumstances of people with intellectual disabilities and/or ASD who were granted their EAS request; investigate the main causes of suffering that led to the EAS request; and examine physicians’ response to the request.

Method

The online RTE database of 927 EAS case reports (2012–2021) was searched for patients with intellectual disabilities and/or ASD (n = 39). Inductive thematic content analysis was performed on these case reports, using the framework method.

Results

Factors directly associated with intellectual disability and/or ASD were the sole cause of suffering described in 21% of cases and a major contributing factor in a further 42% of cases. Reasons for the EAS request included social isolation and loneliness (77%), lack of resilience or coping strategies (56%), lack of flexibility (rigid thinking or difficulty adapting to change) (44%) and oversensitivity to stimuli (26%). In one-third of cases, physicians noted there was ‘no prospect of improvement’ as ASD and intellectual disability are not treatable.

Conclusions

Examination of societal support for suffering associated with lifelong disability, and debates around the acceptability of these factors as reasons for granting EAS, are of international importance.

IEPs and Transition Planning

 Uncertainty is a major theme of The Politics of Autism.  In the concluding section, I write:

A key question in autism policy evaluation is simple to pose, hard to answer: How do autistic people benefit? How much better off are they as a result of government action? While there are studies of the short-term impact of various therapies, there is surprisingly little research about the long term, which is really what autistic people and their families care about. As we saw in chapter 4, few studies have focused on the educational attainment of autistic youths. For instance, we do not know much about what happens to them in high school, apart from the kinds of classes that they take. One study searched the autism literature from 1950 through 2011 and found just 13 rigorous peer reviewed studies evaluating psychosocial interventions for autistic adults. The effects of were largely positive, though the main finding of the review is that there is a need for further development and evaluation of treatments for adults.

Pediatrics 

JUNE 22 2023

Individualized Education Programs and Transition Planning for Adolescents With Autism 

Michelle M. Hughes, PhD; Anne V. Kirby, PhD; John Davis, PhD; Deborah A. Bilder, MD; Mary Patrick, MPH; Maya Lopez, MD; Leann S. DaWalt, PhD; Elise T. Pas, PhD; Amanda V. Bakian, PhD; Kelly A. Shaw, PhD; Monica DiRienzo, MA; Allison Hudson, BS; Yvette D. Schwenk, MS; Thaer M. Baroud, MHSA; Anita Washington, MPH; Matthew J. Maenner, PhD

OBJECTIVES:

The study objectives were to examine the contents of individualized education programs (IEPs) of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including postsecondary transition goals, services, and changes in special education classification over time.

METHODS:

This study involved a longitudinal population-based surveillance cohort from the Autism Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network from 2002 to 2018 in 3 catchment areas in the United States. The sample included 322 adolescents who were born in 2002, identified with ASD, and had an IEP available for review at ages 15–16 years. 

RESULTS:

We found that 297 (92%) adolescents with ASD had an IEP including a transition plan. Those without intellectual disability (ID) were more likely to have postsecondary education and employment goals and have those goals be to pursue higher education or competitive employment compared with those with ID. Forty-one percent of adolescents with ASD had a postsecondary living arrangement goal. Although 28% of adolescents with ASD received school-based mental health services, none of these adolescents were Black; additionally, 15% of those with ID received mental health services compared with 34% without ID. The percentage of adolescents with ASD served under an autism classification increased from 44% at age 8 years to 62% by age 16.
CONCLUSIONS:

We identified gaps and disparities in school-based postsecondary transition planning. Working with education partners, families, and adolescents will be important to identify what challenges contribute to these findings and what supports are needed to improve the equity and quality of the transition planning process for adolescents with ASD so they are prepared for adulthood.

Autistic Welsh Pol

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss international perspectives. I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists." Previous posts have discussed autistic elected officials in the United States.  Autistic people hold office in other countries as well.

Ashleigh Crowter at BBC Wales Live:

You won't find many more sharply dressed people in Welsh politics.

The natty suit, feathered trilby hat and engraved tie-pin reflect just how seriously 26-year-old Kyle Jamie Eldridge takes his job as a town councillor in Abergavenny.

He believes he has been elected to do an important job and so he should look the part.

And Kyle said it is his autism that makes him care about every detail.

"Having autism gives me critical thinking skills, and skills that I think are excellent for public servants," he said.

Since his election last year to represent the town's Park ward, Kyle is the only councillor to have completed all the non-mandatory training that is available.

He is also meticulous in his preparation for council work, renowned for arriving at every meeting, having read and digested all the relevant documents.

Sandra Rosser, the clerk and principal officer for Abergavenny Town Council, said: "He's made it a point to understand fully the importance of good governance, knowing the rights and wrongs of what we can and can't do as town councillors.

French Autistic Adults

  In The Politics of Autism, I discuss international perspectives.

Raven Bureau and Céline Clément have an article at Autism titled “`Survival classes for a neurotypical world': What French autistic adults want and need after receiving an autism diagnosis." Lay abstract:

Adults receiving an autism diagnosis might not react the same depending on their countries or cultures. We also know that autistic people are rarely asked what they think would be best for them following this diagnosis. In this study, we asked 12 French autistic adults about their experiences of receiving an autism diagnosis as well as what they thought might be useful afterwards. Overall, we found that some experiences were similar to experiences related by English or American participants, but some were specific to the French culture, suggesting that such research should expand into new territories and cultures, especially non-European ones. Our participants also had quite a few ideas as to what would be useful for people in the same situation. Some of the suggestions can be put into action by peers and professionals alike, while others are wishes relating to how our participants would like society to behave toward them and people like them, for example. This article allows for a better comprehension of how cultural differences can impact the experience of receiving an autism diagnosis as an adult and provides some insight into what these adults want and desire following such a diagnosis.

From the article:

 Some experiences related by our participants reflected the way autism is understood and conceptualized in France which, while the presence of stigma is similar to what autistic people can experience in other countries (Cage et al., 2019), seems to have a particular flavor due to psychoanalysis and its wide-reaching influence (Bishop & Swendsen, 2021; Briggs, 2020). As this approach is stillvery present in the public discourse, it seems unavoidable that it influences the social representations of autism inFrance. Research on the subject is scarce, and more research on representations of autism in France is needed. Indeed, these representations can have an impact on the mental health of adults receiving an autism diagnosis, as identified by our participants and supported by research using the minority-stress model and how it applies to autism (Botha & Frost, 2020).

Tucker and RFK Jr

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.   And among those diseases could be COVID-19.

Antivaxxers are sometimes violent, often abusive, and always wrong. A leading anti-vaxxer is presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.  Rolling Stone and Salon retracted an RFK article linking vaccines to autism.

While still at Fox, Tucker Carlson hosted him on Fox.  It figures.  Tucker once compared vaccines to the Jonestown Massacre poison.

Ron Dicker at HuffPost:

Kennedy is an avid COVID-19 vaccine denier who before that embraced widely dismissed theories that link childhood vaccines to autism.

He faces mounting criticism from congressional Democrats for challenging President Joe Biden in the 2024 election.

But he has a fan in Carlson, who was Fox News’ highest-profile sower of vaccine doubt before he got canned in April.

“Thanks,” Kennedy wrote to Carlson on Twitter Thursday. “Grateful.”

Related...

• Democrats Unload On ‘Huge Anti-Vaxxer’ Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

More RFK Jr.

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.   And among those diseases could be COVID-19.

Antivaxxers are sometimes violent, often abusive, and always wrong. A leading anti-vaxxer is presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.  Rolling Stone and Salon retracted an RFK article linking vaccines to autism.

 

In an uncovered video, RFK Jr. compared mask mandates to Nazi Holocaust camp experiments on Jews.

RFK Jr.: “They’re going to have the right to compel unwanted medical interventions on us. The Nazis did that in the camps in World War II. They tested vaccines on Gypsies and Jews.” pic.twitter.com/ZK2yLTy1dV

— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 19, 2023

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. knows he shouldn't talk about vaccines while campaigning. But the long shot candidate can't help himself.

Here's what I learned on the (hiking) trail with RFK Jr. https://t.co/8gWlPTmyAt

— Brandy Zadrozny (@BrandyZadrozny) June 20, 2023

From the article:

And Del Bigtree, founder of the second-best-funded anti-vaccine nonprofit (after Kennedy’s) who acts as Kennedy’s hype man at fundraisers, only winked at the reason for his endorsement, tweeting, “I just donated $100. If you know why I did it then join me.”

There’s good reason to be subtle. Kennedy’s views on vaccines put him at odds with most Americans, particularly Democrats. He aligns more with a growing wing of vaccine-skeptic Republicans; research and polling consistently shows modern-day conservatives are more susceptible to conspiracy theories and hold more conspiratorial worldviews generally.

Kennedy’s supporters have gotten the message. In a Facebook group where more than 4,000 people have gathered to organize events like Kennedy-branded Fourth of July parades, members have been workshopping possible appositives for their candidate, settling most recently on “Vaccine Safety Advocate.” But they’d really prefer to avoid the issue, as one poster put it, “by sticking to Kennedy’s campaign points as much as possible.”

People who have followed Kennedy for years aren’t convinced by the spin, and privately, are blunt about the harm they fear could come from a Kennedy administration. A university researcher who studies anti-vaccine misinformation said over text, “#GAMA: Give America Measles Again.” One advocate who leads a local vaccine education nonprofit asked me gravely, “How much damage could he actually, really do here?”

Autism and the Army

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss military personnel and military families.  

Courtney Weinbaum at the Modern War Institute:

Autistic soldiers, and soldiers with other neurodivergent diagnoses, are already serving on active duty, in many cases in secret—hiding their diagnoses from the Army—and I know this because they called to tell me. My team at the RAND Corporation published the first study ever conducted in the United States about neurodiversity and national security, and as word spread that we were conducting this research, my phone started ringing. Based on my conversations, this is what I think the autistic and neurodivergent soldiers in your unit want you to know.

They are intelligence officers, cyber operations officers, company commanders, and in other jobs. They likely entered the military before they were diagnosed, and they went outside the military health system—and dug into their own pockets—to get assessed during adulthood. Or they are waiting until after retirement to seek official diagnoses, though they already have a deep sense of what the results will be. They fear losing the careers they love if their diagnoses were to become known, they described being bullied in the past by classmates or coworkers because of their conditions, and they described the mental cost and exhaustion of hiding their symptoms to pass as “normal” at work.

While neurodivergent diagnoses are not automatically disqualifying from Army service, any new recruit who reveals a diagnosis jumps through hoops to serve. Some described having to prove that their diagnoses do not impede their ability to serve, which puts the burden on an eighteen-year-old to prove a negative for which the Army has no assessment criteria.

...

Our research found peer-reviewed studies reporting that neurodivergent people outperform neurotypical people at recognizing patterns in a distracted environment, on intelligence tests using nonverbal testing methods, and at achieving states of hyperfocus. The one study we found about ethics and neurodivergence found that autistic research subjects were more likely to behave ethically even when it was at a personal cost than neurotypical subjects. If this research holds true, then the implications for people with security clearances is enormous.

Israel, the UK, and Australia already have autism programs in their national security organizations. Multibillion-dollar companies EY and Google proactively recruit neurodivergent candidates, because of the value both companies have reaped from these cadres of employees.

RFK Jr. Keeps Pushing the Vaccine-Autism Myth

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.   And among those diseases could be COVID-19.

Antivaxxers are sometimes violent, often abusive, and always wrong. A leading anti-vaxxer is presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.  Rolling Stone and Salon retracted an RFK article linking vaccines to autism.

Nikki McCann Ramirez of Rolling Stone at Yahoo reports his recent appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast.

Aside from his last name, Kennedy, who announced his campaign for the presidency in April, is best known for claiming that vaccines cause autism — a debunked assertion that he repeated during his interview with Rogan.

“Everybody will say, ‘There’s just no study that shows autism and vaccines are connected.’ That’s just crazy. That’s people who are not looking at science.”

“It’s part of the religion,” Kennedy added. Rogan agreed.

Kennedy’s reactionary positions have already made him a darling for figures like Rogan and Elon Musk. Musk hosted a forum with Kennedy on Twitter in June. During the discussion, Kennedy ranted about social media companies who had banned vaccine misinformation from their platforms and blamed mass shootings on the use of antidepressants.

Earlier this week, a report from the progressive watchdog Media Matters for America found that Kennedy’s anti-vaccine nonprofit, Children’s Health Defense, has been conducting intense outreach on the white supremacist website Gab.

Autism by the Numbers: Transition

 Uncertainty is a major theme of The Politics of Autism.  In the concluding section, I write:

A key question in autism policy evaluation is simple to pose, hard to answer: How do autistic people benefit? How much better off are they as a result of government action? While there are studies of the short-term impact of various therapies, there is surprisingly little research about the long term, which is really what autistic people and their families care about. As we saw in chapter 4, few studies have focused on the educational attainment of autistic youths. For instance, we do not know much about what happens to them in high school, apart from the kinds of classes that they take. One study searched the autism literature from 1950 through 2011 and found just 13 rigorous peer reviewed studies evaluating psychosocial interventions for autistic adults. The effects of were largely positive, though the main finding of the review is that there is a need for further development and evaluation of treatments for adults.

From Autism Speaks:

Many people with autism receive services through their school systems but lose access to those services and vital supports upon leaving high school. Without continuity of services, it can be more difficult for autistic adults to obtain employment, continue their education or live independently, which could potentially impact their future.

Autism by the Numbers data shows the outcomes for autistic students
who receive special education services.

• Nationally, 10% of students in special education programs receive special education services for autism. Not all autistic students qualify for special education, so there may be students who lack necessary support in school. 
• 73.6% of autistic students receiving special education graduate with a high school diploma and another 19.3% finish with certificates. 
• 8.1% drop out of high school, though we don’t know why.

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) training and services provide an effective pathway to preparing autistic adolescents and teens for employment. 

• Autistic students receive VR services at a lower rate than students with other disabilities, and transition-age autistic adults have lower rates of employment than those with other disabilities.
• On average, 50% of autistic youth and young adults receive VR services. This ranges from 10% in New Jersey to 77% in Oklahoma.
• Among those who received VR services in high school, 60% had a job when they left school. This range was from a low of 32% in Washington, D.C. to a high of 76% in Nebraska.

There is still work to be done to increase the number of autistic students who graduate high school and go on to find employment. We need research to further explore these questions:

• 
  What are the longitudinal employment trends for autistic individuals?
• Why is the dropout rate so high, and how can we better support autistic students to have a positive experience in school?

Donald Triplett, RIP

  In The Politics of Autism, I discuss evaluation, diagnosis, and the uncertainty of prevalence estimates.

In a Different Key, by John Donvan and Caren Zucker:

Nearly seventy-five years ago, Donald Triplett of Forest, Mississippi became the first child diagnosed with autism. Beginning with his family’s odyssey, In a Different Key tells the extraordinary story of this often misunderstood condition, and of the civil rights battles waged by the families of those who have it. Unfolding over decades, it is a beautifully rendered history of ordinary people determined to secure a place in the world for those with autism—by liberating children from dank institutions, campaigning for their right to go to school, challenging expert opinion on what it means to have autism, and persuading society to accept those who are different.

  WLBT in Jackson, Mississippi:

 He’s the subject of a popular book, a PBS documentary, and countless magazine stories and medical journal articles, and his name has its own entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica
But to employees at the Bank of Forest, he was simply, “Don.” 

Donald G. Triplett, 89, who worked 65 years at the bank in Scott County died Thursday morning, three months after collapsing in an airport. Triplett was known worldwide as “Case 1″ - the first person to be diagnosed with autism.

RFK Jr. and the Racist Right

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.   And among those diseases could be COVID-19.

Antivaxxers are sometimes violent, often abusive, and always wrong. A leading anti-vaxxer is presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.  Rolling Stone and Salon retracted an RFK article linking vaccines to autism.

There are deep connections between the antivax movement and conspiracy theorists, and RFK is part of the connective tissue.

Eric Hananoki at Media Matters:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s group Children’s Health Defense sought support from users of the far-right social media platform Gab in 2021, including white supremacists, QAnon conspiracy theorists, and an open neo-Nazi.

...

Kennedy is the founder, chair, and chief litigation counsel for Children’s Health Defense, one of the key spreaders of misinformation about vaccines and COVID-19. He is on leave from the group during his campaign. Kennedy has frequently attempted to appeal to right-wing audiences during his run, as evidenced by his campaign site featuring interviews with Elon Musk, Laura Ingraham, Megyn Kelly, and Breitbart News.

Children’s Health Defense has been using Gab to recruit followers since January 2021. Its profile says it is part of Gab Pro, which is a subscription-based program. CHD has posted to the site over 1,500 times and has touted its account as a way to “fight censorship.”

Gab is a social media platform that caters to those deemed too extreme for Twitter and Facebook. Its user base is populated with numerous antisemites, neo-Nazis, and white nationalists. Many of them express hatred toward and issue violent threats against Jewish people. In 2018, a Gab user allegedly killed 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue.

...

Andrew Torba is the site’s founder and CEO. He is a virulent antisemite who has said that Jewish people have too much political power and are not welcome in his preferred political movement: “We don't want people who are Jewish.” He has also reposted praise of Gab as a place where people can find “differing opinions” on the Holocaust.

Media outlets have scrutinized Gab’s links to antisemitism and white supremacy, especially after failed Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano paid Torba for campaign “consulting.” But Kennedy’s ties to Gab through his organization have previously gone unreported.

CHD’s pointed engagement with the antisemitic platform comes as observers have noted a general increase in antisemitism in the U.S., especially online. Misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic has also worsened the problem. Kennedy received criticism in January 2022 after he said during an anti-vaccine rally: “Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps to Switzerland. You could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did.”