In late August 2025, a rumor circulated online that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis mobilized the state’s National Guard to pick fruit.
For example, one Threads user wrote (archived): “DeSantis has mobilized Florida’s national Guard to pick fruit, I s*** you not.”
Variations of the claim also appeared on Facebook (archived), X (archived) and Instagram (archived).
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as factual. However, numerous search engine results produced no evidence of reputable news outlets reporting on DeSantis mobilizing the Florida National Guard to pick fruit (archived, archived, archived, archived), which would have been the case if the story were true.
Rather, the claim originated with a post on Duffel Blog (archived) — a website that describes its output as satirical. Its About page states:
Duffel Blog is the first and only satire news outlet devoted to the U.S. military and national security community. At a time of increasing global conflict and crisis, our team of military veteran writers provides much-needed levity on serious topics and reminds everyone — especially those in the trenches — that a lighthearted jab or a well-placed joke can go a long way. Since 2012, we have poked fun at generals, lieutenants, and everyone in between while helping military members and civilians think critically about national security through satire and smart humor.
Duffel Blog has a history of satirical reporting, sometimes relying on artificial-intelligence software for images to accompany its storytelling. Sightengine and Hive Moderation, two online AI detectors, both found that the image accompanying Duffel Blog’s report about DeSantis and the National Guard was highly likely to be generated by AI.
The fictional story spread after news outlets reported concerns about labor shortages across the U.S. following immigration enforcement crackdowns during the summer of 2025.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims from Duffel Blog in the past, including the assertion that Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported the sergeant major of the Marine Corps and a rumor that the U.S. Army welcomed its first openly transgender working dog.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.