Yes, Virginia, There Are Brainworms
And some conspiracy theorists do have them
RFK Jr. brainworms? That’s today’s hot writhing mess of political gossip.
Only Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s doctors can give a high-quality assessment of whether he had brainworms. However, since the matter was raised this morning in the New York Times, you’ll hear people talking about it, and you should understand the meme.
“Brainworms” is commonly used as a synonym for transphobia. Of course there are reasons why people believe in conspiracy theories, moral panics, and falsehoods, but on some days, “brainworms” is the briefest possible, good-enough explanation of where transphobia comes from and why it’s so sticky in some people’s heads.
Among those with the figurative brainworms is RFK Jr., an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist. He has claimed that “chemical exposures” in the water supply are making kids trans. As the Washington Blade reported last year, he said so in conversation with Jordan Peterson; Peterson’s involvement should be yet another clue to the transphobia level of such an unscientific theory.
