A photo taken 121 years ago has sparked a hilarious internet conspiracy theory that teen climate activist Greta Thunberg is a time-traveller who landed in 2019 to save the Earth.
The image shows three children operating a machine in a gold mine during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898. It was shot by Eric Hegg in the Yukon Territory of northwestern Canada and is today part of the University of Washington’s Special Collections archive.
When the image circulated on Twitter, people were in awe of the striking resemblance between the girl in the image and the Swedish teen activist, who has sparked a global youth-led movement to combat the climate crisis after staging school strikes every Friday for more than a year.
The 16-year-old has lambasted leaders of global superpowers for inaction on climate change, sailed around the world promoting her message, turned down tens of thousands of dollars in prize money, and addressed the United Nations. She’s been labelled by Leonardo DiCaprio as a “leader of our time” and nominated for a Nobel Prize.
“So ‘Greta Thunberg’ is in a photo from 120 years ago, and it’s my new favourite conspiracy. Greta’s a time traveller, from the future, and she’s here to save us,” one Twitter user wrote, sharing the 1898 photo superimposed on a picture of Thunberg.
Twitter users were convinced the 1898 image explained the teenager’s activism and leadership:
People also speculated over what she could have been doing in the past ...
And how she traveled ...
There was a suggestion for time travel movie about Thunberg ...
And finally, kind wishes for the activist as she continues her mission to save the Earth ― whether in 2019 or 1898.