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Profiles

Children's Health Defense

Children's Health Defense (CHD) is an American nonprofit organization based in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. It is the successor to the World Mercury Project.

History

The organization was founded in 2007 by Eric Gladen as the World Mercury Project.[1] Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined the organization in 2015 as board director and chief legal counsel. Gladen stepped down for health reasons in August 2016.

Kennedy relaunched the organization as Children's Health Defense in 2018, announcing an expanded focus on combatting chronic childhood diseases.[1:1]

COVID-19

CHD and Skyhorse Publishing co-published Kennedy's book, The Real Anthony Fauci, on November 16, 2021.[2]

In January 2023, a group of plaintiffs including Kennedy and CHD filed an antitrust lawsuit in a Texas district court against various members of the Trusted News Initiative (TNI).[3][4] The suit alleges that the defendants colluded to censor individuals and news outlets whose reporting on COVID-19 challenged or competed with the TNI.[5] Additional plaintiffs included various members of the Disinformation Dozen, a list created by the Center for Countering Digital Hate of the "top 12 spreaders of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms."[6]

On March 24, 2023, CHD, Kennedy and Connie Sampognaro filed a class action lawsuit against a number of top-ranking officials in the United States Federal Government including Joe Biden and Anthony Fauci, alleging they “waged a systematic, concerted campaign” to compel the nation’s three largest social media companies to censor constitutionally protected speech.[7]

Kennedy formally resigned his role as chairman and chief legal officer at CHD on December 9, 2024, in anticipation of his confirmation as secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).[8]

Organization

CHD has independent chapters around the world.

  • Children's Health Defense Africa
  • Children's Health Defense Australia
  • Children's Health Defense California Chapter
  • Children's Health Defense Canada
  • Children's Health Defense Europe
  • Children's Health Defense Military Chapter
  • Children's Health Defense New York Chapter
  • Children's Health Defense Tennessee Chapter

Partners

Organizations that list CHD as a partner or affiliate include:

Team

Name Position Notes
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Chairman of the Board and Chief Legal Counsel (on leave)[8:1] Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, JW Howard Attorneys, Kennedy & Madonna, Kenviron Consulting
Michael Kane National Grassroots Organizer[12] Teachers for Choice, American Values 2024
Charles Rixey Consultant (former) Briefly worked as a consultant for CHD, assisting in research and writing for Kennedy's book, The Wuhan Cover-Up[13]

Publications

CHD publishes The Defender newsletter.

Videos

  1. Smith, M. R. (2021, December 15). How a Kennedy built an anti-vaccine juggernaut amid COVID-19. AP News. https://web.archive.org/web/20211215135523/https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-entertainment-business-health-public-health-4997be1bcf591fe8b7f1f90d16c9321e ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Kennedy Jr., R. F. (2021). The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health. Skyhorse. https://amzn.to/3rI1NR2 ↩︎

  3. Porterfield, C. (2023, January 13). RFK Jr. Sues BBC And Other Media Outlets Over Covid “Censorship.” Forbes. https://archive.ph/2023.07.06-215922/https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2023/01/13/rfk-jr-sues-bbc-and-other-media-outlets-over-covid-censorship/?sh=33d7cf7b1508 ↩︎

  4. Rawnsley, A. (2023, January 12). Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and His League of Extraordinary Anti-Vaxxers Sue Media Outlets Over Conspiracy “Boycott.” Rolling Stone. https://web.archive.org/web/20230705212824/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/robert-f-kennedy-jr-anti-vaxxers-sue-media-outlets-over-covid-conspiracy-boycott-1234660028/ ↩︎

  5. Agence France-Presse. (2023, January 13). Robert F. Kennedy Jr sues media outlets over misinformation initiative. France 24. https://web.archive.org/web/20231017153430/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230113-robert-f-kennedy-jr-sues-media-outlets-over-misinformation-initiative ↩︎

  6. Jarry, J. (2021, March 31). A Dozen Misguided Influencers Spread Most of the Anti-Vaccination Content on Social Media. Office for Science and Society. https://archive.ph/2022.07.01-025230/https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-health/dozen-misguided-influencers-spread-most-anti-vaccination-content-social-media ↩︎

  7. Baletti, B. (2023, March 27). Breaking: RFK, Jr. and CHD Sue Biden, Fauci for Alleged Censorship. Children’s Health Defense. http://archive.today/2023.03.28-004347/https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/lawsuit-rfk-jr-chd-biden-free-speech/ ↩︎

  8. The Defender Staff. (2024, December 9). RFK Jr. Resigns as Chairman of Children’s Health Defense as He Anticipates Top Job at HHS. Children’s Health Defense. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/rfk-jr-resigns-chairman-childrens-health-defense-hhs-secretary/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  9. Allies. New York Freedom Rally. Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230307055242/https://newyorkfreedomrally.org/allies ↩︎

  10. Member Wall. United Free Press. Retrieved August 5, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230805065349/https://www.unitedfreepress.org/member-wall/ ↩︎

  11. Home. World Freedom Alliance. Retrieved August 5, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.08.05-071425/https://worldfreedomalliance.org/ ↩︎

  12. Michael Kane. Children’s Health Defense. Retrieved January 4, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230104010224/https://childrenshealthdefense.org/authors/michael-kane/ ↩︎

  13. Experience | Charles Rixey, MA, MBA (c). LinkedIn. Retrieved August 7, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.08.07-053809/https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrixey/details/experience/ ↩︎