RFK Jr doubles down on claim video games and psychiatric drugs fuel mass shootings

WASHINGTON, DC: Robert F Kennedy Jr renewed his controversial stance linking violent video games to the surge in mass shootings across the United States at a Tuesday meeting with the MAHA commission.

Kennedy’s comments echoed earlier claims he made in a January 2024 interview on a Turkish talk show, where he also pointed fingers at antidepressants and video games as potential factors behind the epidemic of gun violence.

RFK Jr addresses commission's strategy to improve children's health

During a recent meeting of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, Robert F Kennedy Jr addressed the commission’s strategy to improve children’s health.

In response to a question about protecting children from gun violence, Kennedy drew comparisons between the US and Switzerland, stating, "Switzerland has a comparable number of guns as we do, and the last mass shooting they had was 23 years ago. We’re having mass shootings every 23 hours."

He then reiterated claims he has made in the past, saying, "There are many, many things that happened in the 1990s that could explain these. One is dependence on psychiatric drugs — which is, in our country, is unlike any other country in the world."

Kennedy also suggested possible links between mass shootings and violent video games, as well as social media, adding that these issues are being explored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), "There could be connections with video games, with social media. There are a number of things, and we are looking at that at [the National Institute of Health]."

These remarks echo statements he made earlier in January 2024 during an interview on a Turkish television program. More recently, in the wake of a school shooting in Minneapolis, Kennedy announced that he was launching an official investigation into the potential connection between psychiatric medications and gun violence.

"We are doing those kinds of studies now at NIH. We’re launching studies on potential contribution of some of the SSRI drugs and some of the other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence," he said.

"Many of them … had black box warnings that warn of suicidal ideation and homicidal ideation. So we can’t exclude those as a culprit and those are the kind of studies we’re doing."

He emphasized that these warnings are significant and deserve investigation. "There are black box warnings on some of these psychiatric drugs that warn … in clinical trials that they saw suicidal and homicidal ideation. We are going into that with an open mind."

Internet sparks debate over RFK Jr's comments

A controversial claim by RFK Jr linking violent video games and psychiatric drugs to mass shootings has gone viral, igniting a firestorm of debate across social media. Users from all sides weighed in with sharp opinions and sarcasm.

One user quipped, "Ahhh. Yes, the video games that famously don’t exist anywhere where there aren’t mass shootings."

Another echoed the sentiment, writing, "That’s strange. The whole world has video games and psychiatric drugs. And yet, somehow, mass shootings of this size and frequency only happen in the US. Could it perhaps be something else? Gee golly, I just can’t figure it out."

Not everyone agreed. One person countered, "It’s called evil and psychosis. Don’t blame the drugs when it’s actually not being properly treated that is likely the problem. RFK Jr is brutal…"

Another X user suggested a different angle, "The problem comes from giving them notoriety and recognition. If we never show their face afterwards there would be no reason to do it."

Others directly challenged RFK Jr’s avoidance of gun policy, with one commenter asking, "So nothing to do with the gun laws in the US then?"

And one user mocked the logic altogether, "Lord have mercy next he will be blaming it on heavy metal music like back in the day 🤣."

One particularly passionate critic condemned Kennedy’s remarks outright: "I detest this man. He is so ignorant. Japan has more violent video games, films, etc, and they are not running around shooting up schools and churches. They don't have guns. You can't kill a lot of people with a chopstick. It's culture and guns. Mass shootings are revenge fantasies and suicide."

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.