Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the latest scion of the Kennedy clan to seek the presidency, has a set of unusual fans: some of the most influential tech executives and investors in America. Kennedy鈥檚 strong anti-vaccine views are, for this group, a sideshow.
鈥淭earing down all these institutions of power. It gives me glee,鈥 said one of his boosters in tech, Chamath Palihapitiya, a garrulous former Facebook executive, nearly two hours into a May episode of the popular 鈥淎ll-In鈥 podcast he co-hosts with other tech luminaries. The person who might help with the demolition was the show鈥檚 guest, Kennedy himself.
鈥淢e too,鈥 responded David Sacks, Palihapitiya鈥檚 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 the outlet, was set for June 15.
Kennedy鈥檚 newfound friends in Silicon Valley were mostly loud supporters of vaccines early in the pandemic, but they have proven more than willing to let him expound on his anti-vaccine views and conspiracy theories as he promotes his presidential bid. During a two-hour forum on Twitter, hosted by company owner Elon Musk and Sacks, Kennedy raised a range of themes, but returned to the subject he鈥檚 become famous for in recent years: his skepticism about vaccines and the pharmaceutical companies that sell them.
Indeed, on the June 5 appearance, he praised Musk for ending 鈥渃ensorship鈥 on his corner of social media. A promoter of conspiracy theories, Kennedy said various forces are keeping him from discussing his safety concerns over vaccines, like Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff (as part of the intelligence apparatus), Big Pharma, and Roger Ailes (who has been dead for six years).
Kennedy argued an influx of direct-to-consumer advertising from pharmaceutical concerns keep media outlets, like Fox News, from featuring his theories about vaccine safety. Fox didn鈥檛 respond to a request for comment.
He then said he supported reversing policies that allow direct-to-consumer ads in media. (Kennedy earlier dubbed himself a 鈥渇ree-speech absolutist鈥 and, later, in a discussion about nuclear power, a 鈥渇ree-market absolutist鈥 and even later a 鈥渃onstitutional absolutist.鈥 Legal scholars , on First Amendment grounds, would be receptive to a ban of direct-to-consumer ads.)
Support for Kennedy in the venture capital and tech communities, which have a big financial stake in the advancement of science and generally reject irrational conspiracy theories, is likely limited. Multiple venture capitalists and technologists contacted by 麻豆女优 Health News expressed puzzlement over what鈥檚 driving the embrace from Musk and others.
鈥淚 think he is a lower-intellect, Democratic version of Donald Trump, so he attracts libertarian-leaning, anti-鈥榳oke,鈥 socially liberal folks as a protest vote,鈥 said Robert Nelsen, a biotech investor with Arch Venture Partners. 鈥淚 think he is a dangerous conspiracy theorist, who has contributed to many deaths with his anti-vaccine lies.鈥
But the ones with the megaphones are letting Kennedy talk. Jason Calacanis, another co-host of 鈥淎ll-In鈥 and a pal of Musk鈥檚, said late in the podcast he was pleased the conversation didn鈥檛 lead with 鈥渟ensational鈥 topics 鈥 like vaccines. Still, during the podcast, Kennedy was given nearly five uninterrupted minutes to describe his views on shots 鈥 a long list of alleged safety problems, ranging from allergies, 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 wasn鈥檛 鈥渄irect evidence鈥 for those problems. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 solely the vaccines,鈥 Kennedy conceded. After an interlude touching on the role of chemicals, he was back to injuries caused by diphtheria shots.
While Friedberg, a former Google executive and founder of an agriculture startup sold to Monsanto for a reported $1.1 billion, pushed back against Kennedy, he did so deep into the podcast, after the candidate had left. Kennedy鈥檚 views 鈥 on nuclear power and vaccines 鈥 manifest 鈥渁s conspiracy theories,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 resonate with me,鈥 he continued, as he 鈥渓ikes to have empirical truth be demonstrated.鈥
The muted pushback is a bit of a reversal. Early in the rollout of covid-19 vaccines, many tech luminaries had been among the most loudly pro-shot individuals. The 鈥淎ll-In鈥 crew was no exception. Sacks , 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to raise the bar for what we expect from government鈥; Palihapitiya to 鈥渟top virtue signaling鈥 with vaccination criteria and simply mass-vaccinate instead.
That was then. Sacks recently retweeted a video of Bill Gates questioning the effectiveness of current covid vaccines and defended Kennedy from charges of being anti-vaccination.
Musk himself has sometimes suggested he has qualms with vaccines, , without evidence, that 鈥淚鈥檓 pro vaccines in general, but there鈥檚 a point where the cure/vaccine is potentially worse, if administered to the whole population, than the disease.鈥
Musk isn鈥檛 the only top tech executive to signal interest in Kennedy鈥檚 candidacy. Block CEO and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey Kennedy 鈥渃an and will鈥 win the presidency.
In some ways, the Valley鈥檚 interest in Kennedy 鈥 vaccine skepticism and all 鈥 has deep roots. Tech culture grew out of Bay Area counterculture. It has historically embraced individualistic theories of health and wellness. While most have conventional views on health, techies have dabbled in 鈥渘ootropics,鈥 supplements that purportedly boost mental performance, plus fad diets, microdosing psychedelics, and even quests for immortality.
There鈥檚 a 鈥渄eeply held anti-establishment ethos鈥 among many tech leaders, said University of Washington historian Margaret O鈥橫ara. There鈥檚 a 鈥渟uspicion of authority, disdain for gatekeepers and traditionalists, dislike of bureaucracies of all kinds. This too has its roots in the counterculture era, and the 1960s antiwar movement, in particular.鈥