Recently, a social media post claiming that Singapore had installed “vertical panels filled with living algae” along major roads to improve air quality began circulating online.
Singaporeans were understandably surprised by the idea of these futuristic devices, considering none of them had actually seen a single one in real life.
Source: Fact Fuel on Facebook
Netizens quickly began mocking the post, which appeared to rely heavily on AI-generated images.
On Sunday (8 March), Fact Fuel, a Facebook page apparently dedicated to posting questionably authentic technology content, shared a post about Singapore.
It claimed that a new form of green infrastructure had already been installed in road dividers along “some busy highways”.
According to the post, the structures took the form of vertical panels containing living algae.
“These transparent structures contain water and fast-growing microalgae that naturally absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants,” the post claimed.
However, the image included a telltale sign of generative AI: the opposite side of the road divider appeared oddly overlaid on the algae tanks.
Source: Fact Fuel on Facebook
Fact Fuel went on to ‘explain’ that the algae would act like a natural air filter, converting carbon dioxide into oxygen while being placed in areas with heavy vehicle emissions.
Because the panels supposedly “grow vertically”, the post added, they require minimal space, making them ideal for dense cities like Singapore.
It also claimed the algae biomass could be harvested and reused for bioenergy.
Despite the questionable premise, the post went viral, racking up more than 2,000 likes.
Singapore residents quickly filled the comments with confusion, saying they had never seen these panels anywhere in the country.
Source: Facebook
Before long, confusion gave way to mockery.
One commenter joked that the algae panels were indeed real, and that you could even spot the Hulk, the Green Goblin, and Shrek living inside them.
Source: Facebook
Another netizen humorously wondered whether the National Environment Agency (NEA) would issue summonses for mosquito breeding in the open-top tanks.
Source: Facebook
As it turns out, Fact Fuel was not the first to circulate the claim.
Other accounts had previously shared similar posts. The Facebook page Engineering Facts, for instance, made a nearly identical claim on 18 Sept 2025, complete with em-dash-heavy captions, a common hallmark of AI-generated text.
The accompanying image also showed an even less convincing AI-generated version of the algae panels.
Source: Engineering Facts on Facebook
Later, on 5 Dec 2025, Facebook page Unbox Factory posted an AI-generated video depicting tall, thin containers of glowing green liquid supposedly lining Singapore’s streets.
The video gained more than 3,200 likes.
In one particularly obvious glitch, an AI-generated motorcycle appeared to be riding along the road divider instead of the actual road, alongside several other oddly shaped vehicles.
Source: Unbox Factory on Facebook
One user on the r/Singapore subreddit also noticed the trend, pointing out that the fake algae posts had been appearing across multiple social media platforms.
Even some LinkedIn users had begun sharing them as though they were legitimate innovations.
Source: LinkedIn
Reddit users quickly dismissed the posts as “AI slop”, saying they were likely created to farm engagement.
Source: Reddit
One netizen lamented that AI-generated content had filled the internet with “made-up s***”, warning that it may soon become harder for people to tell what is real and what is not.
Source: Reddit
Also read: ‘AI this AI that’: S’poreans discuss if Govt’s push for AI is warranted or ‘just another hype train’
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