What was RFK Jr putting in his drink mid-flight?

Internet sleuths believe the substance is methylene blue, a drug used to treat a rare blood disorder. Robert F Kennedy Jr has left social media users scratching their heads after the Health and Human Services secretary nominee was recorded administering droplets of a mysterious blue liquid into his drink on board a flight. RFK Jr, a known vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist, was filmed administering several pipette-fuls of the Cobolt blue-colored liquid into his glass.

The video emerged on Wednesday as the 72-year-old awaits Senate confirmation to be the nation’s top health official. He is not seen drinking the liquid in the clip and his destination and the date of his departure was not immediately clear. The clip garnered millions of views across X and Reddit in less than 24 hours, leading to speculation about the substance. The prevailing theory from internet sleuths is that he was administering a dye called Methylene blue.

“RFK Jr putting Methylene Blue in his water while flying is prime we’re so back,” one person tweeted. A second wrote: “Looks like RFK Jr. is in on one of the best-kept secrets in biohacking – Methylene Blue.”. The Independent could not verify any of the social media user’s claims and has contacted RFK Jr and the White House for more information. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the medication is used for the management and treatment of methemoglobinemia, a rare condition in which hemoglobin decreases its ability to carry oxygen throughout the body.

It is typically administered intravenously, with ProvayBlue’s injection claiming to be the first to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Misinformation about methylene blue in its dye form – often used as a disinfectant to clean out fish tanks – has garnered attention on social media. Celebrities, social media influencers and so-called biohackers have baselessly touted methylene blue as a “miracle drug” to fight cancer, combat aging and cure Covid-19.

The actor Mel Gibson, for example, claimed on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that three of his friends who had stage four cancer took a cocktail of alternative medicines – including methylene blue – that helped them become cancer-free. According to the book The Ultimate Guide to Methylene Blue by Mark Slogan, the author claims that the medicine has cause to give: “Remarkable Hope for Depression, COVID, AIDS & other Viruses, Alzheimer’s, Autism, Cancer, Heart Disease.”.

“Just one dose,” has been shown to improve memory in humans, one biohacking website claims. But, according to science, it’s no silver bullet. Despite showing some promise cancer cells are more vulnerable to laser treatment, claims about the drugs cancer-fighting properties are yet to be substantiated by any robust scientific research. The video emerged after the Senate Finance Committee voted on Tuesday to advance RFK Jr’s controversial nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services to the full Senate.

The committee voted 14-13, along party lines, to confirm RFK Jr after two hearings that at times turned contentious as many senators asked him about his record promoting the discredited link between vaccines and autism. RFK Jr previously spouted the false claim that “autism comes from vaccines” on numerous occasions – and has staunchly denied being anti-vax ever since, particularly since being nominated to a position in Trump’s cabinet, insisting his children are vaccinated.