Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr has revived an antisemitic conspiracy that blames Jewish people for the emergence of Covid-19, a claim that follows a string of offensive statements and falsehoods elevated by the long-shot candidate for the US presidency. During a press event in New York City on 11 July, Mr Kennedy baselessly stated that “there is an argument to be made” that the disease is “ethnically targeted”. “Covid-19 is targeted to attack Cucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese,” he said, according to video of the event from The New York Post. “We don’t know whether it was deliberately targeted or not but there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential and impact.” His remarks follow antisemitic conspiracy theories that circulated at the onset of the pandemic, and follow other statements from the candidate elevating spurious conspiracy theories surrounding Covid-19 and vaccines that have fuelled his campaign. “The claim that Covid-19 was a bioweapon created by the Chinese or Jews to attack Caucasians and Black people is deeply offensive and feeds into sinophobic and antisemitic conspiracy theories,” according to a statement from the Anti-Defamation League. “Layer upon layer of antisemitism,” wrote Jonathan Weisman, author of (((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump. “If you still think there is a left or even non-insane case for supporting or even indulging RFK Jr then you have been conned or have conned yourself,” wrote MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan. “Madness. Racist, conspiratorial, dangerous madness.” “We have no words for this man’s lunacy,” wrote nonprofit US watchdog Stop Antisemitism. Mr Kennedy responded to the reporting on Saturday morning, and a statement from a campaign spokesperson to The Independent claimed that the Post “got it wrong”. “I have never, ever suggested that the Covid-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews,” Mr Kennedy wrote on Twitter before echoing his claim that the US and other governments are “developing ethnically targeted bioweapons”. He pointed to a 2020 National Institutes of Health study finding that the impacts of the disease are disproportionately felt among Black people and people with cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions, cancer and other risk factors. “In that sense, it serves as a kind of proof of concept for ethnically targeted bioweapons,” Mr Kennedy stated. “I do not believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered.” Mr Kennedy’s campaign, an insurgent effort for the Democratic nomination boosted by right-wing media to drive a wedge among Democratic voters, has painted a dark and conspiratorial worldview amplifying debunked and misleading claims and outright falsehoods. Earlier this year, US Holocaust Memorial Museum shot down his suggestion that life is worse for people today than it was for Anne Frank. “Making reckless comparisons to the Holocaust, the murder of six million Jews, for a political agenda is outrageous and deeply offensive,” the organisation said. “Those who carelessly invoke Anne Frank, the star badge, and the Nuremberg Trials exploit history and the consequences of hate.” Mr Kennedy and his organisation Children’s Health Defense also have promoted James Corbett, a prominent conspiracy theorist who has claimed that “Hitler was a Rothschild” and “Hitler and the Nazis were 100 per cent completely and utterly set up” by the “international banking community and the international crony capitalists.” His connections to Mr Corbett join a long list of associations with and appearances on right-wing media platforms with far-right pundits. Read More Who is running for president in 2024? Robert F Kennedy Jr calls interviewer ‘unfair’ for spelling out his laundry list of conspiracy theories White House rejects Lauren Boebert’s claim that antisemitism plan will be used ‘go after conservatives’

George Stephanopoulos has an impeccable record of not missing the morning show

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 22, 2023--

Apple employees in France plan to walk out this weekend during the launch of the iPhone 15 following a disagreement about pay and working conditions. Apple retail unions, which include CGT, Unsa, CFDT and Cidre-CFTC, are demanding a 7 per cent wage increase to compensate for inflation, however Apple have reportedly only offered a 4.5 per cent pay increase. The release of the iPhone 15 is the biggest product launch of the year for the US tech giant. Apple France did not return a request for comment. “Management having decided to ignore our perfectly legitimate demands and concerns, the four unions of Apple Retail France... call for a strike on 22-23 September,” CGT Apple Retail said in a statement on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday. It added that representatives of Apple France’s corporate division and Apple’s Barcelona team in Spain also called for a strike. The unions called for workers to demonstrate on Friday morning at Opera Garnier, next to Apple’s flagship Paris store. A CGT Apple Retail union official said the call for a strike had been sent to Apple’s 20 French stores. Apple has nine stores in the Paris region, including three in central Paris, and two in Lyon. Other cities with Apple stores include Marseille, Lille and Strasbourg. “On Tuesday we had a teleconference meeting with Apple’s European bosses. They basically said ‘you are doing pretty well, do not complain,’” the CGT official said. Last week, Apple was rocked by a French government decision to suspend sales of iPhone 12 handsets after tests which it said found breaches of radiation exposure limits. On Friday, Apple pledged to update software on iPhone 12 devices in France in an effort to settle the dispute. Similar action may also be required in other European countries after regulators from Germany and the Netherlands both expressed concerns about the radiation levels. Additional reporting from agencies Read More iPhone 15 Pro: How Apple made the smartphone into a camera like none before it Apple releases major update for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and more Apple explains how the iPhone turned into a camera like none before it Tim Cook says Vision Pro release is on track: ‘I watched Ted Lasso Season 3 on it’

By Joseph Ax The final report from a special grand jury that investigated Donald Trump's attempts to overturn

After news of Eric Smith's hospitalization came to light, claims of him being affected by the Covid-19 vaccine started floating on the Internet

TikTok and Instagram users can scroll with abandon

North Korea has said that detained U.S. soldier Travis King, who is Black, complained about mistreatment and racial

'There was a lot of screaming, happy tears, and jumping around. I think our friends' jaws are still on the ground,' Giannina Gibelli said

British national Sarra Eljak and her family spent days trying to get on a RAF flight back to UK.

WASHINGTON U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he was "outraged" by the explosion at a Gaza hospital

Guernsey and Jersey sign a memorandum of understanding with Brittany for the first time.