When Time magazine named Greta Thunberg its Person of the Year, it published a cover photo of the 16-year-old activist standing on a rocky shoreline, looking skyward, with water crashing at her feet. To Amherst College history professor Ellen Boucher, this is part of a troubling trend of media outlets canonizing the 16-year-old girl as a climate messiah.

Boucher explains why this sort of framing is misguided – and can even serve as fodder for climate deniers. Save the over-the-top veneration, Boucher writes. Thunberg wields more than enough power just being who she is: an outspoken kid.

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Climate activist Greta Thunberg listens during a meeting with climate scientists at the COP25 summit in Madrid, Spain. AP Photo/Paul White

The dangers of depicting Greta Thunberg as a prophet

Ellen Boucher, Amherst College

Some have started to frame Thunberg's activism in messianistic terms – and this can serve as fodder for climate deniers.

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