Who is election disrupter Robert F Kennedy Jr?

Robert F Kennedy Jr, scion of the most famous United States political dynasty, will announce his running mate on Tuesday as he competes as an independent candidate in the 2024 US presidential election.

The odds are stacked against him as no third-party candidate has won the presidency in more than a century and a half.

But the longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist has been able to create a media buzz, thanks to his strong brand recognition: His uncle was former President John F Kennedy, and his father was Robert F Kennedy, a former US attorney general and senator.

He ditched the Democratic Party after failing to secure its presidential nomination and is playing to both far-left and far-right elements in his long-shot bid for the White House.

His campaign appears to be resonating among so-called double haters, who dread the prospect of a rematch between incumbent Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who is the frontrunner to win the Republican Party’s nomination despite his legal woes.

Recent opinion polls indicated that while he might take voters from both candidates, it is Biden whom he could hurt the most.

Amid a climate of political disenchantment, Kennedy has projected himself as a political outsider and blasts “corporate kleptocracy” while touting his environmental credentials.

A longtime vaccine sceptic, he has been accused of spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine on alternative media outlets, such as conservative host Joe Rogan’s popular podcast. Rogan has also been accused of spreading falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccines on The Joe Rogan Experience.

While Kennedy’s detractors have branded him a conspiracy theorist, his supporters hail him as a truth teller.

So who is this political freewheeler? Where does he come from? What does he think, and does he really stand a chance of winning?