Kennedy & American Values PAC To Sue Meta

 

An example of the censorship against the biographical film of Robert. F. Kennedy Jr. provided by his campaign.

On Monday, Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and American Values 2024 (AV24), a political action committees that supports him, filed a First Amendment and election interference lawsuit against the parent company of Facebook and Instagram over its censorship of the biographical film "Who Is Bobby Kennedy?", which was narrated by actor Woody Harrelson.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Meta, related entities, and Mark Zuckerberg.

"Who Is Bobby Kennedy" was produced by American Values 2024 and it has been viewed over six million times across various platforms since it was released on Friday, May 3. However, last Monday, the Kennedy campaign revealed that viewers who attempted to share the film on Facebook and Instagram were unable to upload the video, and the parent company, Meta, gave inconsistent reasons for taking this action.

Rick Jaffe, Esq., a First Amendment attorney representing Kennedy in the lawsuit, said, "This case raises important issues about censorship of political candidates by social media giants like Meta. I have no doubt this case will set a precedent as Americans increasingly rely on social media to form their opinions and values."

The lawsuit is in search of compensatory and punitive damages, and also an injunction that bars Meta from continuing to interfere with the sharing and posting of "Who Is Bobby Kennedy?"

Kennedy said in the press release, "If supporters of all candidates do not have equal access to the digital public square, then we have a democracy in name only. This goes beyond restricting freedom of expression on issues and ideas. Meta is censoring a biographical film about a major candidate in an election year. How can voters make an informed choice if they are denied basic information about a candidate's life?"

To read our coverage of when Kennedy's campaign alleged this censorship by Meta, please click here.