Major international tech investors back vaccine denial Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s campaign for Dem nomination

dDemocratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the last scion of the Kennedy clan to seek the presidency, has an unusual set of fans: some of the most influential tech executives and investors in America. Kennedy’s strong anti-vaccine views are, for this group, a sideshow.

Bring down all these institutions of power. It brings me joy, said one of his tech advocates, Chamath Palihapitiya, a talkative former Facebook executive, nearly two hours after the start of a May episode of the popular All-In podcast that he co-hosts with other tech luminaries. The person who could help with the demolition was the host of the show, Kennedy himself.

Me too, replied David Sacks, Palihapitiyas co-host on the podcast, an early investor in Facebook and Uber. Sacks and Palihapitiya said they would host a fundraiser for Kennedy, which, according to thePuck newsoutlet, was set for June 15th.

Kennedy’s new friends in Silicon Valley were mostly strong vaccine advocates at the start of the pandemic, but they’ve proven more than willing to let him air his anti-vaccine views and conspiracy theories as he promotes his presidential bid. . During a two-hour Twitter forum hosted by company owner Elon Musk and Sacks, Kennedy raised a number of issues, but returned to the one he has become known for in recent years: his skepticism about vaccines and pharmaceutical companies that sell them.

Indeed, in the June 5th appearance, he praised Musk for ending censorship in his corner of social media. A promoter of conspiracy theories, Kennedy said various forces are preventing him from discussing his vaccine safety concerns, such as Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff (as part of the intelligence apparatus), Big Pharma and Roger Ailes (who is been dead for six years).

Kennedy argued that an influx of direct-to-consumer advertising from pharmaceutical companies prevents media outlets, such as Fox News, from presenting his vaccine safety theories. Fox did not respond to a request for comment.

He went on to say that he supports opt-out policies that allow for direct-to-consumer ads in media. (Kennedy formerly called himself a free-speech absolutist and, later, in a discussion of nuclear energy, a free-market absolutist, and even later a constitutional absolutist. Legal scholars doubt that the courts, based on the First Amendment, would favor a ban on direct-to-consumer ads.)

Support for Kennedy in the venture capital and tech communities, which have a large financial interest in the advancement of science and generally reject irrational conspiracy theories, is likely limited. Several venture capitalists and technologists contacted by KFF Health News expressed concerns about what is driving the embrace by Musk and others.

I think he’s a low-intellectual, Democratic version of Donald Trump, so he attracts libertarian, anti-wake, socially liberal leanings as a protest vote, said Robert Nelsen, a biotech investor with Arch Venture Partners. I think he is a dangerous conspiracy theorist who has contributed to many deaths with his anti-vaccine lies.

But those with megaphones let Kennedy speak. Jason Calacanis, another All-In co-host and friend of Musks, said at the end of the podcast that he’s glad the conversation didn’t turn to sensational topics like vaccines. However, during the podcast, Kennedy was given nearly five uninterrupted minutes to describe his views on shooting a long list of alleged safety issues, ranging from allergies, to autism, to autoimmune problems, many of which have been discredited by reputable scientists.

David Friedberg, another Silicon Valley executive and guest on the show, suggested there was no direct evidence of these problems. I don’t think it’s just the vaccines, Kennedy admitted. After an interlude that touched on the role of chemicals, he returned to the wounds caused by diphtheria shots.

While Friedberg, a former Google executive and founder of an agriculture startup that sold to Monsanto for $1.1 billion, balked at Kennedy, he did so in depth on the podcast, after the candidate walked out. Kennedy’s views on nuclear energy and vaccines manifest as conspiracy theories, he said. He doesn’t resonate with me, he continued, as he likes to demonstrate empirical truth.

Muted pushback is a bit of an inversion. Earlier in the rollout of the covid-19 vaccines, many tech luminaries had been among the most vocally in favor of individuals. The All-In crew was no exception. Bagsonce tweetedWe need to raise the bar on what we expect from government; Paliapitiyathe administrators pleadedto stop virtue signaling with vaccination criteria and instead simply vaccinate en masse.

Places that have figured out how to run all night:
– JUMP
Arby
– 24-hour fitness
– Walgreens
CVS

Places that fail to understand this:
– Vaccines
– Count the vote

We need to raise the bar on what we expect from government.

— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) January 30, 2021

The faster we vaccinate, the faster we stop the virus from mutating into a version that existing vaccines DO NOT treat.

So stop signaling virtue with these stupid vaccination criteria and start mass vaccination programs. NOW!!

— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) March 1, 2021

That was then. Sacks recently retweeted a video of Bill Gates questioning the effectiveness of current covid vaccines and defended Kennedy against accusations that he was anti-vaccination.

Musk himself has sometimes suggested he has qualms about vaccines,tweeting in Januarywithout evidence, that I am in favor of vaccines in general, but there is a point where the cure/vaccine is potentially worse, if given to the whole population, than the disease.

I’m in favor of vaccines in general, but there is a point where the cure/vaccine is potentially worse, if given to the whole population, than the disease

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2023

Musk isn’t the only top tech executive to signal interest in Kennedy’s candidacy. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Block and co-founder of Twitterhe tweetedKennedy can and will win the presidency.

It can and will https://t.co/zrKLc2BKhz

— jack (@jack) June 4, 2023

In one sense, the Valleys’ interest in Kennedy vaccine skepticism and everything has deep roots. The tech culture was born out of the Bay Area counterculture. It has historically embraced individualistic theories of health and well-being. While most hold conventional views on health, techies have dabbled in nootropics, supplements that supposedly boost mental performance, as well as fad diets, microdosing psychedelics, and even quests for immortality.

There is a deeply ingrained anti-establishment ethos among many tech leaders, said University of Washington historian Margaret O’Mara. There is a suspicion of authority, contempt for gatekeepers and traditionalists, aversion to bureaucracies of all kinds. This, too, has its roots in the counterculture era, and particularly the anti-war movement of the 1960s.

Darius Tahir, correspondent, is based in Washington, DC, and reports on health technology with an eye to how it helps (or doesn’t help) underprivileged populations; how it can be used (or not) to help governments’ public health efforts; and whether or not it is as innovative as it appears to be. He joins KFF Health News after contributing to Politico, Modern Healthcare and The Gray Sheet. He is a graduate of Stanford University and grew up in Rochester, New York. Find Darius on Twitter @dariostahir

Kaiser Family Foundation is a gifted non-profit organization that provides information on health issues to the nation. Any republication of this article should credit the original author and provide links to both the GLP and the original article. Find KFF on Twitter @KFF