Greta Thurnberg is a 16-year-old climate change activist from Sweden, who has become incredibly famous around the globe as she travels around the world challenging people to protect the environment by reducing their carbon footprint. She’s given speeches at various summits, including the United Nations Climate Action Summit, took part in protests and rallied youth to take action.
Wikimedia Commons/European Parliaament
There are no doubts that Greta is on a mission to save the planet, however some are starting to wonder if she is a time traveler, here to deliver a dire warning about Earth.
The conspiracy theory started on social media after a 120-year-old photo surfaced from the University of Washington’s Special Collections archive. The photograph, which was taken by Eric Hegg in 1898, depicts three children, one of whom looks eerily like Greta, searching for gold in the Canadian Yukon Territory.
Three children operating rocker at a gold mine on Dominion Creek, Yukon Territory, ca. 1898
“120-year-old photo sparks theories that climate activist & environmental heroine, @GretaThunberg , is, in fact, a ‘time-travel’ who has traveled thru time to save our planet! Wishing her all the best and success in her mission to save the Earth. We can use the help we can get!” wrote one twitter user.
It is safe to say that @GretaThunberg must have used a solor-powered time machine to time travel. https://t.co/G8kl3Hms1o
— VARUN DAS (@das_varun99) November 20, 2019
The photo sparked confusion among some people, with many questioning how could Greta be from the future and past.
“To those saying ‘How can she be in the past if she’s from the future?!?’ Obviously, as a time traveler, she can travel to ANY time period. She obviously tried to go back 120 years, didn’t work, and now she’s here. Obviously!” explained writer Jack Strange.
To those saying ‘How can she be in the past if she’s from the future?!?’ Obviously, as a time traveller, she can travel to ANY time period. She obviously tried to go back 120 years, didn’t work, and now she’s here. Obviously! 🙄
— Jack – J.S. Strange (@JackSamStrange) November 20, 2019
Some people took to Twitter to say that the photo is fake.
Photo is so fake it could have been made by Angus Taylor: https://t.co/oqUX7DxMWx
— Tony Martin (@mrtonymartin) November 19, 2019
However, archivists at the University of Washington in Seattle confirmed that the photo is definitely real in a statement. It is part of Hegg’s collection that was donated to the school over 50 years ago.
The university’s digitized collection is searchable online, so it is likely that a facial recognition software mistook the girl in the photo for Greta.