In 2014, Robert F Kennedy Jr found a dead bear on the side of the road. He decided to pick it up, pose for a photograph with his fingers in his mouth, and then dump the bear in New York's Central Park. 

Donald Trump has nominated this prankster, who also once drove around with a head he had removed from a dead whale attached to the top of his car, to serve as America's next health secretary - the top official overseeing disease prevention, the pharmaceuticalRelating to medical drugs or the process of making them. industry and the country's response to pandemics.

RFK is, perhaps more seriously, a conspiracy theoristA person who believes that some secret but influential organisation is responsible for a particular event or phenomenon. with a record of anti-scientific statements. His appointment has shocked many experts. American Public Health Association director Georges C Benjamin calls him "a risk to the public's health".

Here are some of his most eye-opening claims.

RFK's view on vaccines. Kennedy ran the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense. He has accused vaccines of causing autismA condition characterised by difficulty in social interaction and communication. According to the World Health Organisation, 1 in 160 children has an autism disorder..

What the science says. Severe side-effects from vaccines are very, very rare - and autism is not one of them. The WHOShort for the World Health Organisation. says vaccines prevent up to five million deaths a year.¹

RFK's view on fluoride. Fluoride is added to drinking water in much of the US. Kennedy claims it causes arthritis, bone fractures, cancer and IQA means of measuring human intelligence. A person's IQ is usually ascertained by making them sit a standardised test. Some have criticised these tests as a means of evaluating intelligence, claiming that they ignore much of what it means to be intelligent. loss.

What the science says. Dental research finds that fluoride helps strengthen teeth and prevent decay. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention say it has reduced cavities by about 25%.² There are risks, however, associated with consuming too much fluoride. 

RFK's view on milk. RFK thinks that Americans should drink raw, unpasteurisedUnpasteurised foods are sold in their raw forms without having been exposed to high temperatures, which kills harmful microbes. milk.

What the science says. Raw milk is regularly connected to disease, including a deadly strain of E. Coli.

RFK's view on food. RFK has pushed against processed foods, additives and artificial flavourings.

What the science says. RFK has a point. Research earlier this year found that those who eat ultra-processed food face a 21% greater risk for death and a 40-66% increase in the risk of heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and sleep problems.³

Is the likely next US health secretary a crank?

Yes: Kennedy believes that antidepressants cause school shootings, that HIV does not cause Aids and that alternative medicine is the way forward. He is out of step with the evidence on almost everything.

No: Sometimes we need a maverickSomeone who thinks and behaves in an unusual way. to shake things up. Kennedy might not be right on everything, but some of his calls - such as restricting additives and banning drug advertising - could do a lot of good.

Or... It doesn't matter. RFK is so controversial that his appointment may not be confirmed. If it is, he will find that a lot of his aims either contradict Trump's larger project or are controlled by individual states.