Activist Greta Thunberg speaks during the UN Climate Action Summit on September 23, 2019 in New York City. Image by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

By Aiden Pink September 25, 2019

Thousands of people on social media were exposed to a manipulated image that purported to show teen climate change activist Greta Thunberg posing with liberal financier and philanthropist George Soros, AFP reported Wednesday.

“This is that climate change girl Greta with George Soros,” One person who spread the faked image wrote. “As soon as I saw the pic I noticed there is a very strong resemblance. I feel he is behind all these climate change marches for his Globalist agenda.”

Multiple accounts tracked by AFP wrote similar messages alongside the image. Many of those posts received hundreds of shares.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

But the original image actually showed Thunberg posing with fellow climate change activist Al Gore, the former vice president. Someone superimposed Soros’s head on Gore’s body.

According to AFP, the faked image, alongside a claim that Thumberg was Soros’s granddaughter, was first seen on the French website SecretNews, which describes itself as “a collaborative, independent parody media outlet that brings together several contributors.”

Soros, who is Jewish, is frequently the subject of conspiracy theories, many of them anti-Semitic in nature.

Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount