Deepfake Greta Thunberg promotes use of 'vegan grenades'
A video of Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg speaking out about the 2023 Israel-Hamas war in which she called for the use of 'biodegradable missiles' and 'vegan hand grenades' was doctored using AI, according to experts. In the video , which circulated widely on X, TikTok and Reddit, Thunberg appeared to say to the BBC, 'War's always bad, specifically for the planet. If we want to continue fighting battles like environmentally conscious humans, we must make the change to sustainable tanks and weaponry.' The clip was allegedly created by German comedy outlet Snicklick and was labelled as satire. However, some users appeared to believe it was real, while others chose to use it as an opportunity to attack Thunberg for her pro-Palestinian views and her environmental beliefs, and to spread disinformation. Experts noted poor synchronisation of Thunberg's mouth and audio and blurry hands and neck, and linked it to a real November 2022 BBC interview in which the activist spoke about climate anxiety, turning vegan and her book, The Climate Book . System 🤖 Unknown Operator: Developer: Country: Sweden Sector: Politics Purpose: Satirise/parody Technology: Deepfake - audio, video Issue: I mpersonation; Mis/disinformation Fact check 🚩 AFP (2023). Deepfake of Greta Thunberg demanding 'environmentally conscious' wars spreads online Reuters (2023). Fact Check: Greta Thunberg ‘vegan grenades’ TV interview is deepfake
- Date it happened
- 2023-10-01
This incident was imported from AIAAIC and is used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Our additions to it — the structured fields, the translation, the checks against other reports — are published under the same licence.
This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.