Disputes over the causes and effects of climate change and over the policies, protests and campaigns that respond to it.
Published coverage on this page: 1 case · 6 statements. Statements are ordered newest first.
A documentary clip shows Greta Thunberg laughing when told of a Fridays for Future protest in Berlin. She later said the German climate movement had distanced itself from her over Palestine; commentators split over whether she mocked her own movement.
Published
Read the caseLabels describe a response to the linked claim or the action explained in the statement summary. Choose one or more.
6 matching statements
Role at the time: Journalist and head of the taz zwei section at taz, in her weekly column
Statement summary
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.
Quotation excerpt
“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…”
“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.)”
What this label refers to
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.
Role at the time: Climate activist who started the school climate strike, in a statement posted on Instagram
Statement summary
Thunberg says that when she laughed in the interview, she had been blocking a weapons manufacturer in Germany and had just learned of a police-permitted climate demonstration by the German climate movement that had cut ties with her over her statements on Palestinians.
Quotation excerpt
“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…”
“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.”
What this label refers to
Thunberg explains her laugh as a reaction to a police-permitted protest by the movement that had distanced itself from her, and she does not apologize for it, so we labeled it a defense.
Role at the time: Journalist at the Berliner Zeitung, in a commentary
Statement summary
Dukic writes that a student in Berlin holds up a homemade sign because Thunberg showed him eight years ago that he could, and that Thunberg now treats him as a punchline.
Quotation excerpt
“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…”
“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.)”
What this label refers to
Dukic contrasts the students Thunberg inspired with her laughter at their protest and says she now treats them as a punchline, which criticizes her reaction, so we labeled it condemns.
Role at the time: Freelance journalist who writes about the climate crisis, in a post on X
Statement summary
Perowanowitsch calls the clip irritating but says Thunberg was laughing at climate demonstrations as a form of protest, which she sees as not going far enough, rather than at climate protection itself.
Quotation excerpt
“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.…”
“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.)”
What this label refers to
Perowanowitsch disputes the reading that Thunberg was laughing at climate protection and says she was laughing at the form of the protests. He calls the clip irritating but does not condemn it, so we labeled it as challenging the characterization.
Role at the time: Fridays for Future activist, in an interview with WELT TV from the COP31 climate conference
Statement summary
Neubauer says climate activists do not have to agree on everything about forms of protest or narratives. She tells WELT TV she has become more relaxed about individual clips and will not let them distract her.
“We don't have to agree on everything when it comes to forms of protest, when it comes to narratives. (Translated from German. Original: Wir müssen uns nicht in allem einig sein, was Protestformen betrifft, was Narrative betrifft)”
What this label refers to
Neubauer acknowledges a disagreement over forms of protest but plays down the clip, saying she has become more relaxed about individual clips and will stay focused, so we labeled it as minimizing.
Role at the time: Chief commentator at Apollo News and columnist for Nius, in a post on X
Statement summary
Brechtken writes sarcastically that Thunberg cannot believe people still demonstrate on Fridays and that she surely always cared about the cause, suggesting her laugh shows she did not.
Quotation excerpt
“Haha, Greta Thunberg can't believe that people still go out to demonstrate on Fridays. Surely it was always about the cause for her, she is certainly terrified of climate change, that is exactly how it looks. (Translated from German.…”
“Haha, Greta Thunberg can't believe that people still go out to demonstrate on Fridays. Surely it was always about the cause for her, she is certainly terrified of climate change, that is exactly how it looks. (Translated from German. Original: Haha, Greta Thunberg kann es nicht fassen, dass Leute immer noch Freitags demonstrieren gehen. Der ging es bestimmt immer um die Sache, die hat gewiss panische Angst vor dem Klimawandel, genau so wirkt das.)”
What this label refers to
Brechtken uses sarcasm to suggest the laugh shows Thunberg never cared about the climate cause, which criticizes her reaction, so we labeled it condemns.
Doris Akrap is a German journalist at the Berlin daily taz, where she heads the taz zwei section and writes the column Geraschel. She is the author of a book about Dalmatia.
1 case and 1 statement
Swedish climate and political activist.
1 case and 1 statement
Boban Dukic is a Berlin-based journalist at the Berliner Zeitung who writes about politics, foreign reporting and travel.
1 case and 1 statement
Ingwar Perowanowitsch is a German freelance journalist, author and public speaker who writes and speaks about the climate crisis and cycling-friendly cities. He is the author of the book Cycling Cities.
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Luisa Neubauer is a German climate activist and one of the best-known organizers of Fridays for Future in Germany, the school-strike movement for climate action.
1 case and 1 statement
Benedikt Brechtken is a German commentator who is chief commentator at the online magazine Apollo News and writes a weekly column for the news site Nius.
1 case and 1 statement
