TracingVRL by A.J. FishRFK Jr. is Not Just an Antivaxxer (TracingVRL illustration of a true story) https://tracingvrl.substack.com/i/167625115/rfk-jr-is-not-just-an-antivaxxer
He also exaggerates about other topics!
Once upon a time, Rory Kennedy, niece of admired President John F. Kennedy, pitched to HBO a documentary. It was to be about the dangers of a terrorist strike on an upstate New York power plant.
https://tracingvrl.substack.com/i/167625115/rfk-jr-is-not-just-an-antivaxxer
Executives at HBO greenlit Rory Kennedy's documentary pitch, with a condition: include your brother RFK Jr. as much as you can.
Rory alerted to HBO and crew her brother's history of fabricating pseudiscience.
#RFKJr #disinformation #misinformation
https://tracingvrl.substack.com/i/167625115/rfk-jr-is-not-just-an-antivaxxer
Nonetheless, it was just after 9/11 and they proceeded. Filming wrapped, and the documentary was "in the can" as they say. Rory Kennedy & crew viewed the Final Cut to see how it played as a whole.
Oh, no.
#RFKJr #publichealth #infodemic
https://tracingvrl.substack.com/i/167625115/rfk-jr-is-not-just-an-antivaxxer
Rory's brother RFK Jr., had exaggerated so much, some false claims slipped past the fact-checkers and made it into the final cut of the documentary.
It was too late to re-cut the footage, so they just recorded over the soundtrack during the parts where RFK Jr. lied. (They could have been sued by Entergy corporation had they not.)
https://tracingvrl.substack.com/i/167625115/rfk-jr-is-not-just-an-antivaxxer
It must have looked weird, if RFK Jr.'s lips were moving but no sound was coming out. Maybe they covered those snippets of the soundrack with soaring violins, to buttress that Kennedy "gravitas". But the "Final Cut" had to be re-edited so the "Final Final Cut" could be broadcast-ready.
#RFKJr #PublicHealth #infodemic
https://tracingvrl.substack.com/i/167625115/rfk-jr-is-not-just-an-antivaxxer
Rory Kennedy & HBO screened the film first to some very important people (VIPs.) RFKJr. succumbed to calls to speak on the topic, and valiantly took to the podium.
Oh, no.
#RFKJr #publichealth #nuclearpower #misinformation
https://tracingvrl.substack.com/i/167625115/rfk-jr-is-not-just-an-antivaxxer
As RFK Jr. often does, he cited a real study. But the real study didn’t have those facts. Or those figures. He put words into the authors’ mouths.
But at least RFK Jr’s error-ridden claims weren’t captured on film or any permanent record.
That must have been a relief.
https://tracingvrl.substack.com/i/167625115/rfk-jr-is-not-just-an-antivaxxer
The lights then dimmed, and the VIPs previewed the screening of the HBO documentary "Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable".
After the credits rolled, the VIPs approached Rory Kennedy with a suggestion.
Oh, no.
#RFKJr #infodemic #nuclearpower
https://tracingvrl.substack.com/i/167625115/rfk-jr-is-not-just-an-antivaxxer
The VIPs didn't get their wish. Everybody moved on. The documentary broadcast on HBO to middling, if any, reviews. Rory Kennedy collected award nominations ...
... and RFK Jr. embarked on a notorious antivaxx evangelism career. (Whatever happened with that?)
https://tracingvrl.substack.com/i/167625115/rfk-jr-is-not-just-an-antivaxxer