German police have denied being ‘extra’s for Greta Thunberg’ after false claims started circulating that her detainment at a protest in west Germany was staged.
A post went viral falsely claiming that the climate activist being held by police was all set up for the media. Thunberg was seeking to stop the abandoned village of Lutzerath from being demolished for the expansion of a coal mine along with other activists.
With the video of her being removed by police gaining millions of views, a spokesperson for local police told BBC that the force would ‘never give ourselves to make such recordings.’
Yesterday I was part of a group that peacefully protested the expansion of a coal mine in Germany. We were kettled by police and then detained but were let go later that evening.
Climate protection is not a crime.#LuetziBleibt #LuetziLebt #KeepItInTheGround #ClimateJustice
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) January 18, 2023
However, they added that it is important police enable reporting and guarantee the protection of media workers. Photographers and videographers can be seen moving around a held and smiling Greta as the police awaited taking the next steps.
“They had to wait for a couple of minutes before they could bring her to a certain police car,” said the spokesperson.
They added that “the whole situation has been used by those with political motives and the real reason is entirely practical and mundane.”
Many online also falsely claimed it was a “fake arrest” but police clarified that Ms Thunberg had not been arrested but had been briefly detained.
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