Climate change is real and is not a ploy to instigate a rise in communism, despite a widely shared online meme claiming otherwise.
The meme, posted to Facebook and Instagram (here , here , here , here and here), features a digitally altered image of climate activist Greta Thunberg, who appears to be holding a sign mocking climate change and claiming its solution is communism.
“Climate Change: Where the weather is always your fault and the only solution is more communism,” reads the pictured banner held by the Swedish teenager.
According to one individual commenting on the picture, global warming is “just the beginning of Demoncrat [sic] hoaxes to redistribute wealth by the trillions of dollars. Fake science.”
Another said: “Yep, the ‘climate crisis’ is a pretext used by leftists and those who benefit financially to introduce more state control.”
This is false. Firstly, the image of Thunberg is not authentic. It was originally posted by the 18-year-old herself in May 2019, and the sign she is holding reads: “Let Russia strike for climate #fridaysforfuture” (here).
Secondly, climate change is real and is not a political ploy to drive a rise in communism.
The Earth’s global average temperature has increased about 1.18 degrees Celsius since the late 1800s, driven significantly by the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere caused by human activities (climate.nasa.gov/evidence/).
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), since 1993, global sea level has risen at an accelerating rate of approximately 3.5 millimeters per year (here).
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a report on Aug. 9 that addressed the most recent developments and understanding in climate science (www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/ and here).
“Changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, and some of the changes are irreversible,” the IPCC said (here).
The report also warns of extreme weather events occurring more frequently across the planet due to climate change (here).
VERDICT
False. Climate change is real and is not a ploy to drive a rise in communism. A meme of Greta Thunberg holding a sign mocking climate change is digitally altered.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here .
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