In a sudden turn of events, Instagram, a platform owned by Meta, has reversed its suspension of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s personal account.
Kennedy, a Democrat running for president, faced a previous blockage due to allegations of spreading so-called “misinformation” regarding COVID-19 and vaccines.
In the past, Meta had accused Kennedy of “repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines,” which led to the suspension.
The surprising reinstatement comes shortly after Kennedy revealed that Instagram had barred his team from establishing a presidential campaign account on the site.
This move was perceived as contradictory to the social media giant’s policy of enabling interaction between users and politicians.
Meta’s spokesperson, Andy Stone, explained the decision to the Washington Post: “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.”
Stone then admitted to the mistake of preventing the creation of Kennedy’s campaign account, stating, “We quickly fixed the issue that prevented the campaign Instagram account from being created.”
However, despite the reversal on Kennedy’s personal account, Stone clarified that both Facebook and Meta would continue to uphold the ban on Kennedy’s organization, Children’s Health Defense, according to Breitbart.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, has often been at odds with the mainstream media due to his challenge of vaccine-related narratives during the COVID-19 pandemic, originating from China.
Unlike many of his Democrat counterparts, Kennedy has openly critiqued the rising censorship in the United States.
In a recent exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Kennedy expressed his concerns over the current state of free speech in the country.
He stressed, “we’re now in this situation where without free speech, democracy just withers and dies.”
Kennedy further highlighted the crucial role of free speech, comparing it to “the fertilizer; it’s the sunlight; it’s the water for democracy.”
He pointed out the historical fact that there “is no time in history where the people who were censoring speech were the good guys.”
