Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And Super PAC Sue Meta Alleging Election Interference Over Blocked Ad

Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the American Values 2024 super PAC supporting him have filed a lawsuit against Facebook parent company Meta Platforms, accusing the tech giant of interfering in the presidential election after it blocked a political advertisement he posted.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco on Monday claims Meta censored a 30-minute video about Kennedy’s life by removing it and preventing users on its platforms from watching, sharing or posting a link to it.

According to the lawsuit, Meta began censoring the May 3 video “within minutes.” Despite a statement from the company on May 5 saying the video was no longer being censored, the plaintiffs allege it is still being blocked for users. The lawsuit accuses Meta of deploying its “vast power of censorship account suspension and deplatforming in order to favor or target the presidential candidate of their choice.”

Meta declined to comment on the lawsuit, but a spokesperson previously stated, “The link was mistakenly blocked and was quickly restored once the issue was discovered.” The video, titled “Who Is Bobby Kennedy” and narrated by actor Woody Harrelson, highlights Kennedy’s background as an environmental lawyer, his fear of a “rushed” coronavirus vaccine and skepticism around pandemic-era lockdowns.

Kennedy, who has been banned in the past from YouTube and Instagram for spreading “misinformation” about vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic, rejects the anti-vaccine label. The lawsuit underscores the ongoing debate over social media censorship and its potential impact on elections worldwide.