Facebook’s parent company, Meta, took down the social media pages of a notable anti-vaccination organization led by Robert Kennedy Jr.
The Children’s Health Defense, an organization that has advocated against vaccinating children, had its Facebook page and Instagram account taken down on Thursday. The social media platform accused CHD of violating its policies and spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.
Meta took down the accounts due to CHD “repeatedly violating our policies,” a Meta spokesperson told the Hill. The spokesperson specifically noted Meta’s COVID-19 and vaccine policies, which bar users from spreading false information about vaccines or COVID-19.
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“Facebook is acting here as a surrogate for the Federal government’s crusade to silence all criticism of draconian government policies. Our constitutional framers recognized this peril of government censorship,” Kennedy Jr. said in a statement.
“We don’t need the First Amendment to protect popular, or government approved speech. They incorporated the First Amendment specifically to protect free expression of dissenting opinions. They understood that a government that can silence its critics has license for every atrocity,” he added.
CHD claims it is dedicated to “exposing the fraud and corruption within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the pharmaceutical industry.” The organization was founded in 2011 as the “World Mercury Project” but has seen a surge of interest as anti-vaccine notions grew in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Kennedy claims not to be opposed to vaccines, critics have noted that his organization regularly promotes anti-vaccine arguments and false statements, such as claims that vaccines cause autism.
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Meta removed Kennedy Jr.’s account from its platform in Feb. 2021 while leaving the organization’s account up. Facebook has tried multiple times to stop anti-vaccine advocates from organizing or spreading their messages on the platform since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic but has struggled to keep up with the shifting tactics of those involved.
