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All Aboard the ‘Selfie Yacht’: How the Media Fueled a PR Stunt Masquerading as Activism
FILE PHOTO: Activist Greta Thunberg sits aboard the aid ship Madleen, which left the Italian port of Catania on June 1 to travel to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, in this picture released on June 2, 2025 on social media. Photo: Freedom Flotilla Coalition/via REUTERS/File Photo
On June 1, Swedish climate change activist turned anti-Israel agitator Greta Thunberg and 11 fellow travelers attempted to sail their way to the Gaza Strip. Packed with less than a single truck’s worth of aid, this tiny boat should not have garnered the international media’s attention. But over the course of the crew’s nine-day vacation, Greta and her friends made headlines everywhere.
The media were happy to give a platform to this performance. The Irish Times was quick to increase the scale of the vessel, referring to it as a “charity boat” — as if a handful of activists with a token supply of aid were spearheading a major humanitarian operation.
Most notably, CNN gave Greta and German activist Yasemin Acar airtime, effectively legitimizing the stunt with a mainstream spotlight. Not once in the two-minute interview are the two activists questioned about the practicality of their stunt or how they would distribute the meager amount of aid they brought with them.
Most glaringly, the two were not questioned about how exactly they would navigate Gaza, an active war zone in which the Israeli army is fighting a terrorist organization that has embedded itself within the civilian infrastructure.
The activists’ lack of coordination with recognized humanitarian organizations underscores how little faith they had in actually reaching Gaza to safely distribute aid, further proving the flotilla was never about aid, but about publicity.
As the yacht began to sail its way closer to Israel, the IDF successfully and safely intervened, taking control of the ship in order to bring the crew to Israel.
As the takeover was occurring, Greta posted a pre-recorded video, claiming the crew was being “kidnapped” by the IDF. Of course, Greta and her activist friends did not once think about the lack of aid or the dire situation of the 55 Israeli hostages who are still being held in Gaza. Unsurprisingly, Sky News quickly gave yet another platform to Greta’s performative skit.
Newsweek‘s headline gave her claim even more legitimacy.
The Israelis who are held hostage do not have the luxury of sandwiches, water, and a flight home.
Greta Thunberg has not been kidnapped. We most definitely know that, @Newsweek. pic.twitter.com/HvD3rj1jQB
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) June 9, 2025
As the IDF took control of the ship, sharing online that the crew members were all safe and accounted for, outlets moved on from amplifying the activist-led voyage to casting doubt on Israel’s documented actions.
Despite the Israeli Foreign Ministry publishing a video of the activists being provided food and water, The Washington Post claimed the footage merely “appeared to” show what was described.
Meanwhile, unverified claims from Greta Thunberg’s ship were reported without hesitation or scrutiny. The contrast is striking: when it comes to Israel, even video evidence is treated with skepticism, while activist narratives are accepted at face value.
The Israelis who are held hostage do not have the luxury of sandwiches, water, and a flight home.
Greta Thunberg has not been kidnapped. We most definitely know that, @Newsweek. pic.twitter.com/HvD3rj1jQB
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) June 9, 2025
The BBC never misses an opportunity to demonstrate its skewed attitude towards Israel. In reporting that the IDF would show the activists footage from October 7th, the corporation placed the word “massacre” in scare quotes, casting doubt on the very nature of one of the most well-documented atrocities in recent history.
Sickening: Scare quotes around the October 7 massacre.
Just when you thought @BBCNews couldn’t sink any lower. pic.twitter.com/PCuUltvgYr
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) June 9, 2025
While the BBC subsequently updated its post after being publicly humiliated, with a full quote from Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, the fact that it initially focused on that one word from Katz speaks volumes.
For nine days, the media propped up the Madleen crew members as heroic activists who could save Gaza. All the while, truckloads of humanitarian aid were entering Gaza daily in full coordination with the IDF and legitimate humanitarian organizations.
The coordinated media effort to amplify a voyage with no logistical plan and no credible partners did nothing to help Gazan civilians. Instead, it served only the interests of a few narcissistic activists chasing headlines and a curated Instagram story.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post All Aboard the ‘Selfie Yacht’: How the Media Fueled a PR Stunt Masquerading as Activism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.