JFK Jr. died over 20 years ago — he is not a QAnon leader

Some conspiracy theorists have held the belief that John F. Kennedy, Jr., an attorney and the son of President John F. Kennedy, is alive and is working with the QAnon movement, which holds that Democrats and public figures are a part of a Satan-worshiping, pedophilic occult. 

Baseless as it is, the theory is that Kennedy is undercover and acting as Q, the anonymous leader who for years posted cryptic messages to "out" Democrats and claimed to unveil a deep state plot against former President Donald Trump.

But there are changing stories about who Kennedy supposedly disguises himself as. A May 3 Facebook post said he’s masquerading as Juan O. Savin, a prominent promoter of the QAnon movement.

"JOHN & JUAN," the post says before enumerating all the ways it claims the two men are similar: "Both sit the same (cross legged). Same height. Same voice modality. Same age. Both publishers. Both aviators. Both masters of disguise. Both independently wealthy. Both well connected. Both know the LAW. John signed his name ‘Juan Kennedy’ when he was younger. HMMMMMM ‘Quriouser & Quriouser.’"

Facebook flagged the post in an effort to combat misinformation on its platform. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Featured Fact-check

Instagram posts

stated on March 26, 2024 in an Instagram post

Mitch McConnell’s sister-in-law who drowned in a Tesla “is listed as the CEO of the company that owns the ship that hit” Baltimore bridge.

In truth, it’s not that curious: Kennedy died more than 20 years ago. 

He was flying a plane along with his wife and sister-in-law in 1999 when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard. Kennedy, along with his wife Carolyn Bessette, were cremated and buried at sea. In November 2021, undeterred by Kennedy’s confirmed death, hundreds of QAnon supporters gathered in Dallas under the false belief that he would return before eventually trickling away when he did not.

Some QAnon believers claim that Kennedy had similar facial features to Savin. Vice reported that a book published under Savin’s name disclosed that his real name is Wayne Willott. Savin made a rare public appearance at a QAnon conference called For God And Country Patriot Double Down, where he made claims of a globalist plan to depopulate the earth.  

We’ve fact checked similar claims and found no evidence to support it. Nor is there evidence that Savin is secretly John F. Kennedy, Jr. We rate this Pants on Fire!