Watch out for claim Niagara Falls turned red the day U.S. struck Iran

In late June 2025, social media users continued to share claims that Niagara Falls had somehow turned "blood red" for several minutes — an alleged apocalyptic sign tied by some users to U.S. military action in Iran.

The original rumor (archived) coincided with U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, and alleged that the iconic landmark, located on the U.S.-Canada border, turned "blood red" for approximately 10 minutes on June 22, 2025.

Days later, two Facebook posts (archived and archived) continued to carry the rumor; one described the supposed event as having a "deeper symbolic meaning," while the other questioned whether it was a sign of "God's coming." Both posts had garnered thousands of reactions as of this writing.

(Today i Learned/Facebook)

The posts showed what appeared to be images of red-tinted water cascading over the falls. One headline reported, "Niagara Falls Turns Blood-Red for 10 Minutes And No One Knows Why."

The detailed narrative described how at approximately 5:36 a.m., visitors reported seeing the iconic Horseshoe Falls change from clear water to "a deep crimson color, with the water and mist both reflecting an intense blood-red hue." According to the posts, tourist Elena Torres from Mexico captured the moment on video, saying, "It looked like a scene from a horror movie. The whole river was red, and people around me started screaming and recording."

However, the claim was false. Our investigation found no credible evidence supporting reports that Niagara Falls experienced any unusual water discoloration on June 22, 2025.

Also, the image featured in the post was likely the product of artificial-intelligence (AI) software. Hive Moderation's detection tool flagged the image as "likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content" with a 99.9% confidence score. Another AI image detector, Sightengine, similarly determined with 99% certainty that it was "likely AI-generated." 

Snopes reached out to the press office of Niagara Parks and the Niagara Falls Water Board for clarification but had not received replies by the time of publication.

Debunking the Niagara Falls red water rumor

The story contained specific details about the timing of the event, witness accounts, and expert reactions, yet no news media outlets reported on the matter, per searches of Google, Bing (archived) and DuckDuckGo (archived). Had Niagara Falls turned red for 10 minutes during tourist season, such an event at a major natural attraction would likely have generated news coverage.

Also, searches found no evidence of the individuals quoted in the posts. We could not locate any tourist named "Elena Torres from Mexico" who witnessed the alleged event, nor could we verify the existence of "Dr. Rebecca Thompson," described as a hydrologist. The claim included specific quotes and professional credentials, but these sources could not be verified through available channels.

EarthCam, a global webcam service that provides live views of landmarks, archived screenshots (archived) of Niagara Falls from June 22, 2025, which showed the water appearing its normal color throughout the available footages. One archived footage did show the falls illuminated in pink, which was consistent with the regular nightly illumination schedule. None of the archived images showed any water discoloration.

Further, the EndTimes News Facebook page has a documented pattern of posting fabricated content featuring AI-generated images. The page's bio stated (archived): "About end of the world signs. EndTimes News Around The World, entertainment and education. Welcome To The Reality And Fiction (AI). Promote your ads here." The page regularly posts AI-generated natural landscape photos alongside claims about apocalyptic events.