In mid-June 2026, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump's administration completed renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., algae blooms reappeared in the water — sparking a rumor that "antifa operatives" were responsible for their reemergence. "Antifa" is an umbrella term for far-left-leaning political activists, short for "anti-fascists."
For example, one X user (archived) claimed that police arrested two "antifa operatives" for dumping buckets of algae into the water, causing "millions of damage" and turning the pool into a "disgusting green mess." The full post read:
ANTIFA TERRORIST SCUM CAUGHT ON CAMERA DUMPING BUCKETS OF TOXIC GEORGIA ALGAE INTO THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL REFLECTING POOL AT 3 AM — CAUSING MILLIONS IN DAMAGE AND NOW FACING TEN YEARS IN PRISON IF THEY DON'T RAT OUT WHO FUNDED THIS DISGUSTING ATTACK!
These radical left pieces of shit just hit a new low.
US Parks Police caught two Antifa operatives on camera driving a pickup truck onto the National Mall in the middle of the night and dumping multiple buckets of an extremely aggressive form of algae into the Reflecting Pool.
The pool is now a disgusting green mess, and the damage is already in the millions.USPP Captain Joseph Barron has them in custody. They're not cooperating yet, but he's got them dead to rights on film.
"It's that or ten years in prison," Barron said. "They've caused millions in damage."
These domestic terrorists thought they could vandalize one of America's most sacred sites and get away with it. Wrong.
This is what Antifa really is — not "mostly peaceful protesters," but actual criminals who hate this country so much they'll poison the Reflecting Pool in the dark.
Share this everywhere and let every patriot see exactly what these Antifa scum are still doing to our monuments!
(X user @UnmaskTheSys)
The rumor about the Washington Monument also spread on Facebook, while Snopes readers emailed us and searched our site wondering if it was true.
In short, Facebook pages that describe their content as satirical first posted the claim. Therefore, it originated as satire.
A search for the terms "reflecting pool" and "antifa" revealed a Facebook post (archived) from a page called America Loves Liberty. The caption includes information similar to what was described in the above X post.
That post also includes an image with a watermark stating, "Nothing on this page is real." America Loves Liberty's Facebook cover photo says the same thing, adding that its content is satirical (archived).
America Loves Liberty is a sister page of America's Last Line of Defense, which Snopes has repeatedly covered due to it posting satirical content. ALLOD posted another version of the rumor (archived) roughly an hour later, with slightly different details to the first:
BREAKING: The US Parks Police have apprehended two Antifa operatives caught on camera dumping buckets full of algae into the Reflecting Pool.
The incident happened at about 3 AM on Sunday night. Cameras caught a pickup truck entering the National Mall carrying the two men and about half a dozen buckets of what environmental experts are calling an extremely aggressive form of Georgia algae.
"As of now they're not cooperating," said USPP Captain Joseph Barron, "But we have them on film. Justice will be served."
Barron believes he can get the suspects to tell them who funded the operation and what they have planned next.
"It's that or ten years in prison. They've caused millions in damage."
Searches uncovered no evidence that a U.S. Park Police captain named Joseph Barron exists, as of this writing. That name is frequently used in ALLOD's fictional stories. For example, "Joe Barron" appeared as an NBC talent director in one post and a real estate magnate in another.
The algae issues that turned the reflecting pool green have plagued the body of water for years. Greenish water in the pool can be seen in Getty photos from April, June and August 2006. The water also appears green in photos from 2009 and 2010, while a photo from 2012 shows algae forming on the surface of the water following the Obama administration's refurbishment.
According to a New York Times article published in late May 2026, prior to the completion of Trump's renovations, it was inevitable that algae would reemerge soon after work was completed, just as it did after the 2012 renovations. The report said, "If the pipes connecting the pool to the treatment plant are not fixed, experts on the pool say, the algae could come back. If that happens, the pool's newly waterproofed blue floor could again be invisible under a layer of green murk."
With enough sunlight, heat and nutrients from runoff, algae can form naturally in bodies of water, according to Climate Central, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the changing climate and how it affects people's lives. Dark water absorbs more sunlight and warms even more, meaning a darker paint job could contribute to the growth of algae blooms without proper mitigation techniques.
While the rumor in question was intended to be satirical, at least one Trump supporter has appeared to make a genuine claim (archived) that algae blooms in the reflecting pool were a result of sabotage or vandalism.
For further reading, Snopes has fact-checked numerous claims about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Because the effectiveness of satire is subjective, we use "originated as satire" or "labeled satire" ratings based on creators' description of their work. It's your call on whether you agree.