RFK Jr. tied to controversial streamer who claimed Hitler was ‘utterly set up’ by Jews

The anti-vaccine Democratic presidential candidate praised James Corbett, a conspiracy theorist, for his ‘extraordinary work for keeping the public informed’

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on June 2, 2023. Photo by y Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

By Jacob Kornbluh July 6, 2023

Political scion and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and his anti-vaccine group — appear to be followers of a fringe Internet streamer known for promoting conspiracy theories about 9/11 and the 2021 Sandy Hook massacre as well as antisemitic claims about the Holocaust.

According to a report by Media Matters, a nonprofit group that monitors news outlets, Kennedy appeared on James Corbett’s show in 2021 and thanked him for what he deemed his “extraordinary work for keeping the public informed.” Corbett has also been featured in multiple videos and recently spoke at a symposium hosted by Kennedy’s anti-vaccine group, Children’s Health Defense, which has promoted falsehoods about vaccine safety.

Kennedy, 69, the son of former U.S Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy, is challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination. He is polling around 20% among Democratic primary voters and has drawn support from libertarians and some in the tech world for his views on censorship and vaccines.

The presidential candidate has a history of comparing vaccine and mask mandates to the Holocaust. Last month, Kennedy came under fire for tweeting his support for Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd frontman known for his anti-Israel views, who dressed up as an SS soldier and used Holocaust imagery at a recent concert in Berlin. He later deleted the tweet.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Democratic presidential candidate, at the Celebrate Israel parade on June 4, 2023. Photo by Matthew Litman/Forward

Kennedy’s group hosted Corbett at a March 4 symposium, in a session titled, “The Future Food False Flags.”

Corbett claimed in a 2013 broadcast that Adolf Hitler was a member of the Rothschilds, a Jewish banking family and the target of antisemitic conspiracy theories. He also said, “Hitler and the Nazis were 100% completely and utterly set up and made it into what they were by the international banking community and the international crony capitalists, including those in America.”

He produced a video titled “9/11 Suspects: Dancing Israelis,” that claimed Israeli intelligence had advanced knowledge of the attacks and openly celebrated them.

Media Matters revealed last month that Children’s Health Defense sought support from users of Gab, a social media platform that caters to far-right extremists and circulates antisemitic tropes, and engaged with its founder, Andrew Torba, who has shared his antisemitic beliefs and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories on the site.

Jacob Kornbluh is the Forward’s senior political reporter. Follow him on Twitter @jacobkornbluh or email [email protected].

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