ABC News edits RFK Jr. interview to exclude ‘false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines’

ABC News says it edited an interview with presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to exclude false claims he made about coronavirus vaccines.

“We should note that during our conversation, Kennedy made false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines,” ABC News Live anchor Linsey Davis said during a report on Kennedy Jr.’s recent presidential bid announcement. “We’ve used our editorial judgment in not including portions of that exchange in our interview.”

“Data shows that the COVID-19 vaccine has prevented millions of hospitalizations and deaths from the disease,” the anchor said. “He also made misleading claims about the relationship between vaccination and autism. Research shows that vaccines and the ingredients used in the vaccines do not cause autism, including multiple studies involving more than a million children and major medical associations, like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the advocacy group Autism Speaks.”

Kennedy, an environmental attorney and prominent anti-vaccine activist who declared his candidacy for president earlier this month, said he wants to run against President Biden for the Democratic party’s nomination because he “fundamentally” disagrees with him about the country’s direction.

A recent Fox News poll, which ABC cited in its report, found some 19 percent of likely Democratic voters say they’d like to see RFK Jr. win the nomination.