Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Robert De Niro hold joint press conference on mercury and vaccines
(KUTV) Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Robert De Niro will hold a joint press conference Feb. 15 at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C., where they will discuss their efforts to learn more about mercury and vaccines.
The two will discuss their endeavor to work alongside the World Mercury Project and “find a missing piece of research associated with mercury.”
There will be a cash reward involved, the details of which are set to be discussed during the conference, which you can watch on WMP's website or on the organization's Facebook page beginning at 8 a.m.
De Niro has publicly supported the nonprofit advocacy group in the past, and Kennedy serves as Chairman. According to its website, the WMP works to “create a world free of the devastating effects of mercury.” It was founded in November 2016.
The group has publicly spoken out about against vaccines with mercury, and argue those vaccines have caused an increase in neurological disorders among children.
The fear that vaccines caused an increase risk of autism in children originated with a 1997 study by a British surgeon, Andrew Wakefield, in a medical journal. According to PublicHealth.org, that research has since been "completely discredited due to serious procedural errors, undisclosed financial conflicts of interest and ethical violations." Wakefield lost his medical license.
Studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics and more have found no connection between autism and vaccines.
De Niro faced push back in 2016 when he planned to show an anti-vaccination documentary at his Tribeca film festival and eventually pulled it from the lineup.
"To me there was no reason not to see the movie,” De Niro told Vulture after the festival. “The movie is not hurting anybody. It says something. It said something to me that was valid.”
De Niro has a child with autism.
Kennedy said in January that President Donald Trump who has previously criticized vaccines had asked him to lead a new commission on vaccines, though a source later said the commission was still in discussion. Kennedy will answer questions on the commission at today's press conference.
