As the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on whether to approve Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the nation’s new Health and Human Services secretary, he’s been going viral online. The reason: a mysterious blue beverage.
Multiple outlets have cited a video shared Wednesday by the account “American AF” on the social medium platform X. By Friday afternoon ET, the post had close to 21 million views and Newsweek said it spurred a spike in Google searches for something called methylene blue.
This video first shows a man (apparently Kennedy) talking to someone as he sits in an airplane seat, and it appears to be taken from a few rows behind the man. Then, it cuts to show a pair of hands (with the same color sleeves as Kennedy) pulling a dropper out of a tinted bottle to put a blue substance in his drink.
It is uncertain, based on the video, that the man was Kennedy or what the blue substance was. Newsweek, The Independent and the Daily Beast all reached out to Kennedy for a response and as of Friday they had not heard back.
People speculating online said the drops might be methylene blue, described by the National Library of Medicine’s National Center for Biotechnology Information as “an organic chloride salt,” that “exhibits antioxidant, antimalarial, antidepressant and cardioprotective properties.”
“The intravenous form of methylene blue is approved by the FDA for the treatment of pediatric and adult patients with acquired methemoglobinemia,” per the Chemical Entities of Biological Interest database. “Historically, it has been widely used in Africa to treat malaria, but now it disappeared when chloroquine (CQ) and other drugs entered the market,” and it has also been studied as a potential treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
According to The Independent, ProvayBlue’s injection claims “to be the first to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration,” and a book called The Ultimate Guide to Methylene Blue by Mark Slogan claims that it has many benefits. Newsweek and other outlets noted that social media users commented saying that they take methylene blue as a supplement.
A 2023 study published in the Cancers journal said that “methylene blue oral rinse is a safe treatment for refractory oral pain,” in cancers patients. The study also pointed out that the low cost of methylene blue makes it accessible to patients.
Actor Mel Gibson raved about methylene blue last month on an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. He claimed it helped his friends with cancer become “cancer free.”
While there are some noted benefits associated with it, The Independent also said there is misinformation about methylene blue in social media. Per the outlet, “claims about the drugs cancer-fighting properties are yet to be substantiated by any robust scientific research.”
Kennedy, an environmental lawyer – who has made headlines for comments about a worm eating part of his brain – has some controversial medical views. His vaccine skepticism in particular has made even Republican supporters of President Donald Trump – who appointed Kennedy – wary of approving his appointment to head the HHS department.
The Senate Finance Committee Tuesday voted to advance Kennedy’s nomination (14-13, along party lines). Although Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) expressed concerns about Kennedy’s vaccine stance, he ultimately voted for his nomination to advance.
“RFK Jr. has demonstrated a commitment to ending the chronic disease epidemic and improving the transparency of our health care systems. I am eager to work with him to ensure Americans have access to quality, affordable health care and look forward to his nomination being considered by the full Senate,” said Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), chairman of the committee, in a statement this week.
However, the American Journal of Managed Care noted that many are still concerned about the nomination. These include Democratic lawmakers, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) of the finance committee, and The Wall Street Journal editorial board.
After Trump announced RFK Jr. as his nomination as HHS secretary, Kennedy said in an X post that the “[U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s] war on public health is about to end,” including, in his words, “its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything else that advances human health and can’t be patented by Pharma.”
Kennedy’s nomination is expected to pass in the Senate, where Republicans have a majority.
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