Opinion: A Swedish Political Scientist Says Greta Thunberg's 'Radical Turn' Deserves Scrutiny, Not Applause
Daniel Schatz argues in Fox News opinion that her France appearance, her stance on Israel and her funding raise questions. Thunberg has rejected the flotilla allegations he cites.
Political scientist Daniel Schatz, a Swede, writes in a Fox News opinion column that the climate activist has drifted into extremism while escaping scrutiny.
The France trip. Thunberg joined student protests outside a high school near Paris on Oct. 13. Schatz says the demonstrations were marred by rioting, arson and vandalism, with authorities putting the damage at no less than $34 million. "Thunberg brought the applause," he writes. "Taxpayers were left to pay for the destruction."
The Israel turn. He cites her endorsement of a motion declaring "Zionism is racism," adopted by Britain's Green Party on Oct. 4, and says denying Jews the right to self-determination falls under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism. He also says she accepted an award in Stockholm from a group that sent condolences to Hamas after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, and that the presenters wore scarves with the emblem of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Israel accused Gaza flotilla organizers of links to Hamas, which he notes Thunberg rejected.
The money question. He points to the Greta Thunberg Foundation's disclosure of about $1.3 million in cumulative receipts as of October 2025, and her reported taxable income of roughly $7,000 for 2024. The foundation says it does not pay her. Schatz asks who funds her travel and campaigns.
His verdict. He calls her a "conflict influencer" and says that until she answers, "her claim to be a voice of conscience rings hollow."
This is opinion. The claims about Thunberg are the author's, and we have not checked them. Her supporters would dispute his framing.