A Year of RFK Jr. Lies: New Analysis Tracks Patterns of Deception

WASHINGTON, DC – Just over one year ago, Defend Public Health began publicly tracking HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s deceptions, distortions and disinformation in a weekly website feature, the RFK Jr. Whopper of the Week. Now, the group has analyzed the first year of Whoppers – 50 in all – in a new report, Whoppers in Review: RFK Jr.’s Killer Year of Lies, revealing distinct patterns that reflect techniques typical of deceptive propaganda campaigns. 

Among other things, Kennedy:
•    Appeals to emotions like fear and anger. These strong emotions often overcome facts and logic in the human psyche and have become a staple of Kennedy’s public statements.
•    Focuses on stories, not data. Compelling anecdotes serve as a powerful way to grab attention while obscuring complex realities, and Kennedy does this consistently. 
•    Cherry-picks only the data that back his preconceived ideas. When a much larger body of evidence contradicts him, he ignores or dismisses it.
•    Blames those who are unhealthy for their problems. Kennedy talks about making people “accountable for their own health” and simply ignores factors they can’t control, like poverty and discrimination.

“Secretary Kennedy is consistently, relentlessly dishonest, and his lies aren’t random,” said political scientist and independent health policy consultant Benedicte Callan, who has led DPH’s Whopper of the Week project from the beginning. “He is a skilled propagandist who uses well-known propaganda techniques. He appeals to emotions like fear and anger, substitutes stories for facts, and cherry-picks any tiny scraps of data that support his preconceived ideas while ignoring or dismissing the mass of evidence that contradicts him. This isn’t a man who’s occasionally wrong: Kennedy carefully and skillfully spreads disinformation.”

Epidemiologist and DPH Coordinating Committee member Elizabeth Jacobs added, “Inevitably, collecting and analyzing Kennedy’s lies also involved chronicling much of the destruction he and the Trump administration have inflicted on the programs and institutions that protect all of us. We were struck by how relentlessly RFK Jr. blames the sick for their own health problems, while killing research that could help us better understand how factors like discrimination and poverty make millions of Americans sicker.”

With the midterm elections looming and recent polling showing only 38% of Americans trust Kennedy, these issues take on particular salience, Callan said. “When a candidate asks for your vote, every voter needs to ask, ‘Are you okay with having the most dishonest Health and Human Services secretary ever? And what will you do to protect us from the damage he’s causing?’”

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Defend Public Health is a volunteer-driven network of public health researchers, healthcare workers, advocates and allies fighting to protect the health of all from the Trump administration's cruel attacks on proven, science-based public health policies. We believe that everyone has the right to what they need for a healthy life, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity.
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