As with all online criticism, there is a spectrum of hate against Thunberg.
Her most extreme haters link her blonde braids to Nazi propaganda and threaten to assassinate her. Most of her critics are less violent and conspiratory, resorting instead to dismissive mocking. President Donald Trump himself has taken to making fun of Thunberg, recently
retweeting a post with Thunberg’s address to the U.N., in which she spoke about the dangers of a future with no environmental awareness, with the sarcastic, “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!”
Trump’s tweet mirrored ones made every day by countless TV personalities, politicians, and regular Americans, and it demonstrates the resounding sentiment against Thunberg. People see her as pompous and whiny for speaking bluntly about the perils of unsustainable consumption and global warming. They see a healthy-looking young person and fail to grasp why she could possibly be complaining about a bleak future. Thunberg is not just mindlessly complaining, however; she is pleading inactive global leaders to listen to science and take steps against irreversible climate change. Her dystopian descriptions may edge on hyperbolic at times, but nothing she says is malicious or false.
Thunberg is not claiming to be a climate expert or an adept policymaker. When critics lash at her for being a pompous know-it-all, they need to realize that everything she is saying about climate change is not new. Scientists have been saying the same facts for decades. As an activist, her role is simply to encourage everyone, from other teenagers to the most powerful leaders in the world, to listen to the facts and take action.