RFK Jr. heats up anti-press rhetoric and CIA conspiracies, as he fails to make debate stage

Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is peddling conspiratorial attacks on the press, decrying CIA connections as his poor performance keeps him out of the June debate.

"The new head of NPR is a CIA agent," Kennedy told supporters in April, per ABC News, adding that CEO Katherine Maher was part of a “systematic takeover of the American press, particularly the liberal media.”

Kennedy, whose support in polls of the November election hovers near 10%, has long amplified dangerous conspiracy theories, but this is a fresh batch. Ramping up to the election, he has reportedly been repeating claims that “Operation Mockingbird,” a conspiracy theory that holds that the CIA manipulates American journalists, is “alive and well” at rallies, ABC says.

Citing Q-Anon supporter and conspiracy theorist Kevin Shipp, the vaccine conspiracist alleged that swathes of publications were “compromised by the CIA.” The big-money-backed campaign slammed individual outlets for their minimal coverage, too.

Kennedy’s campaign continued attacks on CNN after failing to meet the qualifications for its June 27 presidential debate, claiming in a statement earlier this month that CNN and employees involved in the production of the televised event would violate campaign finance laws if he were left off the stage. CNN denied the claim.

Kennedy’s attacks on journalists come as a report on press freedom from Reporters Without Borders demonstrates a worrying increase in political pressure and violence against the press going into the 2024 election.