The claim: Image shows RFK Jr. post promoting consumption of raw foods
A Dec. 16 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be an X post from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, that includes a photo of a plate of uncooked meat.
“Raw meat, raw yolks, raw cheese, raw milk, raw Royal jelly and some raw milk,” reads text in the image, a screenshot of the X post attributed to Kennedy.
The caption of the Facebook post reads, “The breakfast your next Secretary of Health is eating today.”
A version of the claim posted to Threads received more than 2,000 likes in two days. It received hundreds of additional likes on Instagram and was reposted thousands of times on X.
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The image was doctored to attribute to Kennedy a post shared by another X user. There is no record of the post on Kennedy’s account.
No record of post on RFK Jr’s X account
Kennedy did not make the X post attributed to him. His verified account contains no record of the post, and the Facebook user who shared the image acknowledged in a message to USA TODAY that it is a fabrication. The image and the text of the post were, however, shared Dec. 10 by another X user.
Fact check: No, RFK Jr did not end news conference when asked if he was confused
Kennedy, a former independent presidential candidate, was announced in November as Trump’s pick as health and human services secretary and has promoted views that are widely panned by health experts, baselessly claiming a link between vaccines and autism and expressing a desire to remove fluoride from public water.
The post taps into one of Kennedy’s trademark positions. Kennedy, who has said he drinks raw milk, has accused the Food and Drug Administration of waging a “war on public health” with its “aggressive suppression” of certain substances, including raw milk. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drinking milk that has not been pasteurized comes with a risk of exposure to bacteria and other germs. Pasteurization is the process that kills those bacteria.
USA TODAY previously debunked false claims that Kennedy announced a ban on Hershey’s chocolate starting Jan. 20, 2025; was offered an $850 million “hush money” payment from McDonald’s and posted about a promise to bankrupt “packaged food companies.”
USA TODAY reached out to several other social media users who shared the image but did not immediately receive responses. An automated response from a Kennedy representative did not address the claim.
Our fact-check sources
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., accessed Dec. 16, X account
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. didn’t share this food selfie of dish of raw meat | Fact check
