Fact Check: Did Greta Thunberg call for “sustainable tanks” and “biodegradable missiles”? Viral video debunked

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg became the talk of the town as a video went viral where she can be seen discussing “sustainable tanks” and “biodegradable missiles.” First uploaded by a Twitter user, @WallStreetSilv, the video quickly amassed more than 3.7 million views in just a day. It features the logo of the BBC on it, and Greta Thunberg can be heard saying:

“War is 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. There are so many new concepts for battery-powered fighter jets that can carry biodegradable missiles."

She then goes on to say how people can block the road to farms and gardens so that, in war-like situations, plants do not get harmed. The Swedish activist also talked about “vegan hand grenades" and allegedly said:

“If you use hand grenades, please use vegan hand grenades. No animal should have to give their life for all this mayhem and chaos.”

As the video went viral, many social media users were convinced by the claim that it was really Greta Thunberg suggesting the use of “sustainable tanks” and “vegan hand grenades.” However, the audio in the clip did not match her lip movement. At the same time, “SATIRE” can be seen written in the bottom-right corner of the video, suggesting that the video is fake.

Because many people believed Thunberg truly advocated the ideas, Twitter, now X, also added a note at the bottom of the video claiming that it had been “digitally altered.” The note stated that Greta Thunberg’s mouth and voice were "deepfaked.”

Thunberg's video about "vegan wars" is not real as the audio has been deepfaked: More details revealed. (Image via X)

Hence, Greta did not talk about “vegan hand grenades, “sustainable tanks,” or “biodegradable missiles.” As per Snopes, the video is labeled satire, meaning that the news is fake and should not be believed. The rumor surfaced after Thunberg publicly declared her solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

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Greta Thunberg’s original audio altered from BBC’s show where she talks about climate anxiety

In the video shared by the Twitter user, it can be seen that the activist appeared on BBC’s The One Show. While the video is fake and has been altered to make it appear satirical, the original video is from roughly 11 months ago, when the Swedish activist appeared on the show to talk about climate anxiety.

In the original video, she can be seen promoting her new book, The Climate Book, where she talks about how to tackle climate anxiety. Greta, who was born in 2003, is a well-known environmental activist who talks about climate change and urges people to make lifestyle changes to save the environment.

She has led various rallies and strikes in Sweden to promote saving the environment. Furthermore, her School Strike for Climate had become extremely popular as she, at the time, claimed that she would continue the strike every Friday until Sweden agreed with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

Meanwhile, she also set an example for the world when she sailed from England to New York City on a carbon-free yacht. Due to the 20-year-old's climate activism, the fake video came as a shock to the world amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

While the video and the claim have been debunked, it once again points to how easy it is for people to believe such videos on social media. Hence, as responsible internet users, netizens must first verify the source and the information posted so that people are not misled and fake news is not propagated further.

Greta Thunberg has not responded or addressed the fake video yet.