Was a Florida man arrested after Polk County fire marshals discovered 600 gallons of unleaded gasoline stored in an above-ground swimming pool in his backyard? No, that's not true: The claim originated on a Facebook page that acknowledges its posts are "satire and parody stories." Other social media accounts copy and repost the content without the satire disclaimer.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) shared by the @AmericaReal3 X account on April 5, 2026. It included a fake image of a TV news report under a caption that read:
FLORIDA MAN HOARDS 600 GALLONS OF GAS IN HIS ABOVE-GROUND POOL 'FOR WHEN IT GETS BAD'
Lakeland, FL A 51-year-old Lakeland man was arrested Tuesday after Polk County fire marshals responded to a neighbor complaint and discovered approximately 600 gallons of unleaded gasoline stored in a 24-foot above-ground swimming pool in the man's backyard, covered with a tarp, two lawn chairs, and a hand-painted sign reading 'PRIVATE -- NOT A POOL ANYMORE.'
DARWIN AWARD WINNER 🏆
This is what the image looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: Post by @AmericaReal3 account on X.com.)
There is no actual news reporting about the purported arrest. A Google search (archived here) for the keywords "Lakeland man was arrested 600 gallons of gas stored a pool" found social media posts making the claim, but no authoritative reports. The top search result pointed to the original post (archived here) on The Dude Humor Facebook page.
(Image source: The Dude Humor Report page on Facebook)
This Facebook page makes it clear in the description that its posts are all jokes.
Dude Humor -- where breaking news meets pure entertainment.
for wild headlines and viral stories
Disclaimer: This page features satire and parody stories that are exaggerated, developing fictional -- created for entertainment purposes only.
