Claims "Antifa" dumped algae in Reflecting Pool originated as satire

"The FBI raided a storage unit in DC tied to Antifa and recovered six kinds of aggressive algae, five paint-stripping peptides, and a 'small but significant' sized ultrasonic grow lab," says text over an image posted June 22, 2026 to X.

The image shows containers filled with a mysterious bright green liquid.

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A screenshot of an X post taken on June 23, 2026

"Antifa" refers to a broad, structureless movement of "anti-fascist" activists that Trump in 2025 designated a "domestic terrorist organization," even as experts said it is more of a political ideology than an organized group.

The posts invoking the movement spread after Trump brought in contractors to drain the 2,030-foot pool and repaint it "American flag blue," a project that started in April 2026 and concluded in June as part of renovations to commemorate the Unites States' 250th anniversary.

Soon after completion, coating algae turned the pool's waters a deep green color -- which the US president blamed on "sick, deranged" people he accused of vandalizing the pool (archived here).

But there is no evidence the FBI busted "Antifa" members for dumping chemical weapons or algae in the water. Instead, the narrative is satire originating with a prominent network of satirical content called "America's Last Line of Defense," or ALLOD.

Satirical origins

On June 22, the National Park Service told AFP that "five individuals have been arrested for vandalism and five additional individuals were issued federal citations."

A day later, Trump claimed on Truth Social that "six people have been arrested, and seven people have been cited, for the damage they did to our Country's now beautiful Reflecting Pool" (archived here).

AFP found no credible evidence any of those arrests were tied to "Antifa," however.

One of the parties accused is former Olympian David Hearn, who told The Washington Post that he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of destruction of government property after he stopped during a bike ride to touch detached paint in the pool.

The claims about "Antifa" dumping algae trace to posts from ALLOD, a network of parody websites that publish fictional stories often mistaken for real news. The network's watermark -- which reads "Nothing on this page is real" -- remained visible in certain posts repeating the narrative.

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A screenshot of a Facebook post taken on June 25, 2026

The network is run by Christopher Blair, who previously told AFP he thinks people share his content because it fits "their confirmation-biased narrative of the world."

The original ALLOD posts about the Reflecting Pool quote "Captain Joseph Barron" as a police source, but that name does not match any corresponding staff member at the agency (archived here).

The earliest posts were also published June 16, before the arrests announced by Trump and the Park Police.

Unrelated photo

Reverse image searches also revealed that the photo of green liquids predates the Reflecting Pool renovations by several years. 

The picture appears on an ecommerce website offering solutions for reef tank enthusiasts based in Vermont, with archives showing the photo on the site as far back as 2023.

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A screenshot of marine product ecommerce taken on June 24, 2026

In a comment on Facebook, ALLOD said it stopped using the photo in posts promoting the satire story because "the guy I screenshotted the jugs of green stuff from got all upset."

The owner of the store, Keith Berkelhamer, told AFP on June 25, 2026: "Those are my images and it has nothing to do with the Washington DC Reflecting Pool. The guy who took that image without my permission is a well known fake news person."

Mix of factors

Mariena Hurley, director of the phycology department at Drexel University's Patrick Center for Environmental Research (archived here), told AFP on June 24 that several factors likely led to the algae resurfacing at the reflecting pool.

"Nutrients from renovations, increased sunlight and temperature from the darker color or general increased weather temperatures could have caused the growth," she said.

Hans Paerl, a marine and environmental sciences professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (archived here), added that "high existing nutrient levels are the root cause of algal blooms, and the process of bloom formation is accelerated by warm, stagnant waters."

"The pool was filled with Potomac River water," he said on June 24. "These are nutrient-rich waters to begin with."

Ducks were also discovered deceased near the site, though no official cause for their deaths has been brought forth at this time.

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Baby ducks and their mother gather at the edge of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as the cleanup of the algae bloom continues, while paint peels from the bottom of the pool, in Washington, DC, on June 23, 2026 (AFP / Ken Cedeno)

AFP reached out to the FBI for comment but did not receive a response.

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