Sinking selfie-activism: How Greta Thunberg handed Israel a propaganda win

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg released a dramatic video this week claiming she had been “kidnapped by Israeli occupational forces or forces that support Israel” and called on the Swedish government to “release me and the others as soon as possible.”

It was a scene scripted for a drama that never happened. 

The video circulated just as footage emerged showing what actually took place: the IDF peacefully took Thunberg and the other 11 activists on board the Madleen “freedom flotilla” into custody, offering them sandwiches and water.

Since October 7, Israel has struggled in the propaganda war. But ironically, a sea voyage designed to showcase supposed Israeli brutality turned into a rare diplomatic win for the Jewish state in the court of public opinion.

For nearly 10 days, the global media gave Thunberg exactly what she wanted: attention. 

What should have been viewed as a reckless and tone-deaf act of provocation was treated by major outlets as a legitimate humanitarian mission. Activist stunts like this, amplified by social media and legitimized by mainstream coverage, distort real conflicts and undermine the people living through them.

As Herb Keinon wrote in The Jerusalem Post, if Thunberg truly wanted to help the people of Gaza, she wouldn’t have sailed into the coastal enclave but away from it, demanding the release of hostages and calling for Gaza to be freed from its actual captors.

En route to Gaza, Thunberg gave an interview to Qatar’s Al Jazeera, telling the reporter, “We will keep our promises to the Palestinians and stand against Israel’s crimes.”

It sounds powerful and emotive – exactly what Thunberg has mastered since her breakout speech at the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019, when she scolded world leaders for failing to act on climate change. Since then, she’s made headlines for taking a trans-Atlantic boat trip to protest the environmental impact of flying, for blocking the entrance to the Swedish parliament, and for spearheading global climate strikes.

Early on, Thunberg was seen as a passionate young voice and a symbol of what the next generation cares about. But since the start of the Gaza war, she has undermined her credibility by aligning herself with Hamas – a recognized terrorist organization – while demonstrating little apparent understanding of the complex realities on the ground.

Less than two weeks after Hamas brutally massacred more than 1,200 Israelis, Thunberg posted a photo on 𝕏 of herself and other activists holding signs such as “Free Palestine” and “Stand with Gaza,” along with the message: “Today we strike in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza. The world needs to speak up and call for an immediate ceasefire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected.”

A month later, she stirred further controversy by voicing support for the Palestinian cause during a climate protest in Amsterdam, which led to public disruptions. And the actions haven’t stopped. Her latest stunt – what Israel's Foreign Ministry dubbed the “selfie yacht” – was one of her most audacious PR attempts since the war began.

Thunberg appeared to be baiting the IDF into a confrontation. But neither the Israeli military nor the government took the bait.

“She’s a strange person,” U.S. President Donald Trump said of Thunberg on Monday. “She’s an angry person.”

Even before the boat had fully set sail, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned them that they would not be allowed to reach Gaza. True to his word, the Israeli Navy intercepted the vessel peacefully and towed it to the port of Ashdod. The small amount of aid that was aboard the ship was transferred to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and other appropriate channels for distribution.

“The State of Israel will not allow anyone to violate the maritime blockade on Gaza, whose primary goal is to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas – a murderous terrorist organization that holds our hostages and commits war crimes,” Katz had said.

And he was right.

Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs pointed out that the United Nations has already ruled the blockade legal. 

“Under these rules, there is no right to break a lawful blockade as a form of protest,” he said in a statement. He also emphasized that for a maritime blockade to remain legitimate under international law, it must be enforced consistently and without exception.

After the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, the UN established a panel to review Israel’s maritime policies. The conclusion: Israel had every right to enforce a blockade on Gaza due to the ongoing threat posed by Hamas.

That means Thunberg and her fellow travelers’ plan was not only violating Israeli law but also flouting international law.

According to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, all of the activists were invited to watch raw footage of the October 7 atrocities. After just a few minutes, they refused to continue.

“These antisemitic flotilla activists closed their eyes to the truth and once again proved they prefer the murderers over the victims,” Katz said. “They continue to ignore the atrocities committed by Hamas against Jewish and Israeli women, the elderly, and children.”

“Greta Thunberg is … happy to call for ceasefires, to chant for Palestine, to repost slogans, and to accuse Israel of genocide – but when asked to look at what Hamas actually did that day, she declines,” wrote Adam Slonim, an Australian author and pro-Israel activist, in a Facebook post. “You can’t call for justice while shielding yourself from truth.”

He continued: “It’s easier to chant for Gaza than it is to watch Hamas drag a naked, bleeding woman by the hair through the streets. Easier to parrot slogans than to reckon with their implications. When Greta covers her eyes, she’s not protecting herself – she’s protecting a lie. A movement that claims moral clarity but refuses factual clarity is not progressive. It is propaganda.”

Even the aid that the boat carried was negligible.

“While Greta and others attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity – and which included less than a single truckload of aid – more than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel within the past two weeks,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip – they do not involve Instagram selfies.”

So why, for nine days, did the international media play right into the activists’ hands?

The media watchdog HonestReporting detailed in an article and across social media how major outlets, such as CNN, gave the activists airtime and legitimacy.

Sky News, the BBC, and even The Washington Post “propped up the Madleen crew members as heroic activists who could save Gaza,” HonestReporting wrote. “The coordinated media effort to amplify a voyage with no logistical plan and no credible partners did nothing to help Gazan civilians. Instead, it served only the interests of a few narcissistic activists chasing headlines and a curated Instagram story.”

Today’s young activists often mistake noise for impact. They think that they are marching for justice like their parents, who stood up for civil rights and against apartheid, mistaking a terror organization that believes rape is an act of war for freedom fighters. 

Had they actually watched the October 7 video when they arrived in Ashdod, they would know that. 

Had they actually arrived in Gaza, Hamas would very likely have stolen the aid, and it would never have made it to the hands of Palestinian civilians.

Meanwhile, the people of Gaza will keep suffering.

The selfie yacht sank. And for once, Israel stayed afloat.