AAP FACTCHECK – A swarm of fake posts and misattributed satire has followed the nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr to a top health position in incoming US president Donald Trump’s administration.
Posts implying Mr Kennedy eats raw food and is about to ban unhealthy products such as Diet Coke and chocolate have not come from the man himself, as is being suggested.
Many of the posts originate from satirical accounts impersonating Mr Kennedy but have been passed off as posts from his real personal account.
One X post shared on Facebook, showing what appears to be a dish of raw meat, has been altered to look like it came from Mr Kennedy’s X account.
The caption reads: “Raw meat, raw yolks, raw cheese, raw milk, raw Royal jelly and some raw milk.”
The original X post comes from an unrelated user and the post does not appear on Mr Kennedy’s timeline.
Other satirical posts that have been mistaken or misrepresented as true have suggested that Mr Kennedy has promised to ban popular food and drink products in the US if he is confirmed as the Secretary for Health and Human Services.
The text on one X post shared on Facebook from @RFKJrHealthSec was captioned: “BREAKING: Effective January 20th, I will be BANNING all consumption of Diet Coke in the United States.”
Another post from the same account read: “BREAKING: Effective January 20th, Hershey’s Chocolate will be BANNED in the United States.”
The account, which has since been deleted on X, clearly described itself as a parody account.
A very similar-looking current parody account, with the handle @RFKJRHEALTH, has been active since July 2023.
Mr Kennedy’s genuine X account is @RobertKennedyJr. Neither of the previous promises appear on his personal account and there has been no reporting of these proposed bans.
Another digitally altered post claiming Mr Kennedy had promised to bankrupt several packaged food companies also received thousands of views but is a fake.
The Verdict
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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