After a video of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—President Donald Trump's pick for Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary—adding a mysterious blue liquid to his drink on a flight went viral, people started speculating what it might be.
The video, which popped up after the Senate Finance Committee voted to advance the well-known vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist's nomination to the full Senate, shows him dispensing several pipette-fulls of the cobalt blue liquid into his glass. The clip does not show him drinking the liquid, and details about his destination or the timing of his departure remain unclear.
You can see the video below.
The theories about what the liquid might be popped up immediately.
Although many suspected Kennedy had administered some drops of a dye called Methylene blue to his drink.
Methylene blue is primarily used for managing and treating methemoglobinemia, a rare condition that reduces hemoglobin’s ability to carry oxygen throughout the body. Typically administered intravenously, ProvayBlue’s injection is the first FDA-approved formulation for this purpose.
Early research suggests that methylene blue may have antioxidant properties that help reduce toxic proteins in the brain, potentially playing a role in preventing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Some studies also indicate that it could slow skin aging by stimulating collagen and elastin production, reducing cellular damage, and promoting wound healing. However, experts emphasize that more research is needed to confirm its safety and effectiveness for these uses.
Misinformation about methylene blue in its dye form—commonly used as a disinfectant for fish tanks—has spread across social media. Celebrities, influencers, and self-proclaimed biohackers have falsely promoted it as a “miracle drug” for fighting cancer, reversing aging, and curing COVID-19.
Actor Mel Gibson, for instance, claimed on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that three of his friends with stage four cancer became cancer-free after taking a cocktail of alternative medicines, including methylene blue, a claim experts have called misleading.