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| - In June 2026, an image circulated online purportedly showing a screenshot of The Trump Organization's online merchandise store selling pieces of peeling paint from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Trump has done it again. Just when you thought the grift had peaked at 399 dollar sneakers and 60 dollar Bibles, behold our newest collectible innovation in patriotic failure, genuine limited edition chunks of American Flag Blue from the world famous Trump Reflecting Pool.
On June 19, Snopes verified that the "American flag blue" paint that President Donald Trump had authorized to be applied to the reflecting pool was indeed peeling off just days after the completion of a renovation that cost more than $14 million.
At the time of publication, the official Trump Organization merchandise store was not selling pieces of paint that had peeled off the reflecting pool. As the Instagram user who shared the post above suggested, the image and alleged product is fake.
First, the graphics in the screenshot in question do not resemble those on The Trump Organization's official website store. For example, they feature a blue-and-gold-themed website while the actual Trump Organization store page is white and gold.
Additionally, OpenAI's verification site also found the screenshot was generated using the company's artificial intelligence software. The company's verification tool detected SynthID, an invisible watermark for AI images that Google developed and OpenAI also uses.
Through a reverse image search, Snopes then tracked down the Facebook user who first posted the image (archived), who confirmed via email that they created it using ChatGPT. They shared a separate screenshot showing the prompt they used to generate the fake Trump store listing. In their email, the user added that it "was supposed to be parody." Their prompt supported this, as they also asked ChatGPT to "make a satirical ad."
Given the Facebook user initially shared the fake screengrab without a "satire" label, however, we've rated this image as fake.
(ChatGPT)
The fabricated screenshot spread while other social media users seemingly tried to sell (archived, archived, archived) what they claimed to be pieces of paint that had peeled off the reflecting pool. Snopes did not confirm the authenticity of the photos those social media users shared.
For further reading, we have previously investigated other rumors about the reflecting pool and its renovation under the second Trump administration.
Sources
'Advancing Content Provenance for a Safer, More Transparent AI Ecosystem'. OpenAI, 2 June 2026, https://openai.com/index/advancing-content-provenance/.
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