Doris Akrap says it would be legitimate even if Thunberg laughed at the Friday protests
Doris AkrapJournalist and head of the taz zwei section at taz, in her weekly column
Akrap says the laugh cannot be used to argue that the climate movement is ridiculous, and that even if Thunberg was laughing at Germans still demonstrating every Friday, that would be legitimate.
“Even if she really has to laugh that the Germans still demonstrate against climate change every Friday and she knows nothing about it, that would also be legitimate. (Translated from German. Original: Selbst wenn sie wirklich darüber lachen muss, dass die Deutschen immer noch jeden Freitag gegen den Klimawandel demonstrieren und sie davon nichts weiß, wäre auch das legitim.)”
Analysis
Where this statement fits
Greta Thunberg laughs at a German Fridays for Future protest in a documentary, then says the movement distanced itself from her over Palestine
In a documentary by German filmmaker Hubertus Koch, released on YouTube on October 28, 2026, Greta Thunberg laughs when Koch mentions that a Fridays for Future demonstration is taking place in Berlin that day, and asks whether the group still does that. The clip spread on X from November 11. Some commentators criticized her for mocking the movement she founded, while others said the clip lacked context. On November 13, Thunberg said on Instagram that the protest came from the German climate movement that had distanced itself from her over her statements on Palestinians.
Source and context
Analysis
About this source
German-language weekly column. Its final section discusses the clip of Thunberg laughing and the reactions to it.
Before the quotation
Akrap writes that for commentators on the right the laugh proves Thunberg is a fraud, while for those on the left nothing is proven because the context is unclear.
After the quotation
She ends the column by saying she is in favor of laughing on.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Akrap says the laugh does not show the climate movement is ridiculous and that laughing at the Friday protests would be legitimate in any case, so we labeled it a defense.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseGreta Thunberg says she laughed at a protest by the German movement that distanced itself from her over Palestinians
“For context, this was the same days as we were blocking a weapons manufacturer there, and just found out there simultaneously was a police permitted climate demonstration in a famously white middleclass area by the very same German climate movement who cancelled and 'distanced themselves' from me for saying that Palestinians are humans too and that when we call for justice, Palestinians have to be included in those calls too.”Read statement
Boban Dukic writes that Thunberg now treats the students she inspired as a punchline
“Somewhere in Berlin, then, a schoolboy holds up his homemade cardboard sign because a Swedish woman showed him eight years ago that you are allowed to do that. And that very Swedish woman now thinks he is a punchline. (Translated from German. Original: Irgendwo in Berlin hält also ein Schüler sein selbst gemaltes Pappschild hoch, weil ihm eine Schwedin vor acht Jahren gezeigt hat, dass man das darf. Und genau diese Schwedin hält ihn heute für eine Pointe.)”Read statement
Ingwar Perowanowitsch says Thunberg was laughing at the form of the protests, not at climate protection
“The clip of Greta Thunberg laughing about a Fridays For Future demo in Berlin is irritating. Nevertheless, you have to understand the context of the clip. Greta is not laughing at climate protection itself, as many now want to portray it. She is laughing at the form of action of the climate demos, which from her point of view do not go far enough. (Translated from German. Original: Der Clip von Greta Thunberg, wie sie über eine Fridays For Future Demo in Berlin lacht, ist irritierend. Dennoch muss man den Kontext des Clips verstehen. Greta lacht nicht über den Klimaschutz an sich, so wie es jetzt viele darstellen wollen. Sie lacht über die Aktionsform der Klimademos, die aus ihrer Sicht nicht weit genug gehen.)”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Doris Akrap says it would be legitimate even if Thunberg laughed at the Friday protests
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/8995-akrap-says-the-laugh-cannot-be-used-to
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Doris Akrap says it would be legitimate even if Thunberg laughed at the Friday protests". First published: 2026-11-15. Last updated: 2026-11-15. https://disputeindex.com/events/8995-akrap-says-the-laugh-cannot-be-used-to