Fact Check: Has Senator John Kennedy's son, Preston, been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer?
WASHINGTON, DC: In late November 2025, a rumor circulated online claiming that Louisiana Senator John Kennedy's son, Preston, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
The claim, which appeared on Facebook groups, alleged that the disease had spread to Preston's liver and lungs. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.
Claim: John Kennedy's Son, Preston, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
The claim appeared on several Vietnam-related Facebook accounts, including a post on the Animals World community chat group on November 23, 2025.
The caption of the post read, "The news struck Louisiana like a freight train at midnight. Preston Kennedy, 43, the only child of Senator John Neely Kennedy and his wife Rebecca, has been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. The disease has already spread to his liver and lungs. Just 48 hours ago, doctors at MD Anderson in Houston delivered the devastating prognosis to the Kennedy family."
"At dawn, the family released a voice-breaking statement: 'Our sweet boy is the light of our lives. He's fighting with everything he has, and we are asking the entire state, the entire country, to fight with him through prayer. Please'," the post added.
The post continued, "Preston, a respected attorney in Baton Rouge and father of three young children, collapsed during a routine jog last week. What began as a precautionary scan quickly revealed the merciless truth. The diagnosis sent shockwaves through the state and beyond."
"Within minutes, the hashtag surged to the top of global trends, amassing over 4.2 billion impressions in under five hours. President Donald Trump personally called Senator Kennedy. Governor Jeff Landry ordered flags lowered across Louisiana. The entire state delegation canceled public appearances in solidarity," it further added.
The post concluded, "Louisiana isn't sleeping. The state is on its knees. And as Preston fights for his life, millions are begging heaven to hold him close and not let go."
Fact Check: False, the viral rumor is a spam
The claims made in the online rumor are false, as Preston Kennedy does not have pancreatic cancer. Several points mentioned in the rumor are false and do not hold any credibility.
To start with, Preston is 29, not 43. He was born six years after his parents' wedding in 1990. There are no reports of a cancer diagnosis on Kennedy's social media timelines, nor has any credible news outlet covered any such news.
Moreover, the claim appears only on Facebook pages administered from Vietnam, on a network previously identified by fact-checkers as a source of fake content and referred to as Viet Spam, according to Lead Stories.
Furthermore, a search on search engines such as Google and Bing for “Preston Kennedy” returned no results regarding a cancer diagnosis.
Similar rumor about John Kennedy debunked
This is not the first time a rumor about John Kennedy has circulated on the internet. A viral social media post on November 10 claimed that Kennedy had embarrassed the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, in a Senate hearing after she tried to "silence" him.
The rumor claimed this happened after Clinton supposedly attempted to "silence" the Senator. The story was shared by a user on November 10 to a Facebook page with the name David Attenborough Fans. The post read, "Hillary Clinton Tries to Silence Senator Kennedy, What Happens Next Will Shock You" "The tension in the chamber was palpable even before Hillary Clinton sat down. Her voice was icy as she leaned into the microphone, telling Senator Kennedy that his questions were 'outside this committee'."
However, this rumor was also debunked, as there was no credible evidence to back the claim. Searches on search engines did not document any news media reports of any such argument between Sen. Kennedy and Hillary Clinton.
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.
