Why Are People Accusing Greta Thunberg Of Anti-Semitism? The Autism Octopus Plushie Controversy Explained

Greta Thunberg is never one to shy away from weighing in on a political issue, having created a name for herself as one of the world's youngest climate change activists. But her recent attempt to show solidarity with the Palestinians amidst the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict became fraught with controversy.

After the post went live, she was accused of trying to subtly insert an anti-semitic message into her image through the inclusion of a seemingly benign children's toy in her photo. Here's everything you need to know about the Greta Thunberg Anti-Semitic Octopus Plushie Controversy.

What Did Greta Thunberg Post To Her Social Media?

On October 20th, 2023, Greta Thunberg posted an image featuring her and three of her friends to her social media profiles. She and her friends were seen holding up signs that read, "Free Palestine," "This Jew Stands With Palestine," "Climate Justice Now," and "Stand With Gaza."

Also in the image was a small stuffed blue stuffed toy in the shape of an angry-looking octopus, which many recognized as coming from a line of toys marketed toward autistic children as a tool to communicate emotions; the toy can be flipped inside-out to reveal a happy pink face or a frowning blue face.

Why Were Some People Angered By Greta Thunberg's Post?

Some people were angered by Thunberg's post because of the blue frowning octopus, given that there exist some instances of Jewish people and allied forces being depicted as tentacled, Kraken-like beings "taking over" the earth. One such example of this historic sentiment is a World War 2 poster meant to represent Winston Churchill as a Zionist.

X user @Imamofpeace reposted the poster and asked if Thunberg made a conscious choice to include what some consider to be an anti-semitic dog whistle in a post showing support for Palestine.

How Did Greta Thunberg React To The Backlash She Received?

Later on October 20th, Thunberg took to her X account to acknowledge the criticism and clarify that the toy is a common tool used by autistic people to express difficult-to-articulate emotions. She also said that she does not stand by anti-semitic sentiments, even unintentionally, and had thus decided to delete her post.

What Were Some Other Reactions To The Controversy?

While some internet users were not convinced about Thunberg's naivete regarding the octopus, others criticized what they saw to be disproportional backlash. X user @Doomscroller posted an image created by BlueSky artist @Slammer to mock Eve Fartlow's, while X user @CyberPunkCortes took the notion of an "anti-semitic octopus plushie" to a radical extreme.

For the full history of Greta Thunberg's anti-semitic octopus controversy, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.