Public figures don't get to control how they are portrayed to the wider world.

No matter how carefully one crafts a message or prepares a speech, the public will put their own spin on things.

Sometimes this is due to a nefarious agendas, but it can also be the result of human nature to pigeonhole and misconstrue.

It's human to craft simple narratives to reduce huge, complex issues to a one-line soundbite, such as "America won World War II", or "Social media is responsible for the breakdown of society".

Frequently, the truth is more complicated than that.

Greta, face of a movement

You may have heard of Greta Thunberg, the teenage activist from Sweden who, for better or worse, has become one of the faces of the climate change movement.

Thunberg gained prominence after her efforts to encourage grassroots protest to raise awareness of the climate change emergency went global.

2018 | 2019 pic.twitter.com/zH0vNClPRQ

— James Shield (@jshield) September 20, 2019

Her message resonated, and six million people joined protests around the world, demanding governments to take more urgent action on climate change.

Thunberg's growing stature led to her being invited to address the U.S. Congress, and then the United Nations (UN).

It was at the UN where Thunberg gave a passionate speech, and her expressions were caught on camera.

You've probably seen the meme that resulted:

And you've probably seen it in a variety of situations, usually with Thunberg "scolding" someone for not behaving in an environmentally-friendly manner.

But along with these jabs came other, sharper accusations.

Thunberg began drawing flak for minor "transgressions", such as being photographed with a plastic bottle on a train.

Others spread rumours that her campaign was being funded by billionaire George Soros, among other dark accusations.

But people blaming Thunberg for being an environmental harridan miss the point.

Greta is focused on governments, not individuals

If you look at the public statements that Thunberg has made, particularly her speeches to Congress and the UN, at no point does she place the burden of fighting climate change on the individual.

Her message is, and always has been, that elected governments around the world have a responsibility towards ensuring that the youths have a future to look forward to.

As she said at the UN, to the representatives of its member nations:

"For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you're doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight."

Greta does not expect less-developed countries to stop developing

Another popular line of attack is that Thunberg, as a citizen of a developed Western nation, is being unfair by demanding that less developed countries halt their progress.

But that's not something she said in her speeches.

In fact, she said to Congress that rich countries should do more to cut their emissions while the less-developed countries continue to modernise.

"That means that richer countries need to do their fair share and get down to zero emissions much faster, so that people in poorer countries can heighten their standard of living, by building some of the infrastructure that we have already built. Such as roads, hospitals, schools, clean drinking water and electricity."

Listen to the experts

You may disagree with Thunberg's methods to raise awareness, or even find her annoying.

After all, as The Atlantic notes, she is still a teenager telling older people things that they may find uncomfortable.

But it is untrue that she goes around scolding people for using plastic straws or for not recycling their trash.

Her focus has always been on our elected leaders who are in a position to do something about this emergency that threatens our future.

And Thunberg herself does not claim to have all the answers.

Instead, her consistent message has been to "listen to the experts", particularly the report prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Perhaps that's why she has inspired millions of youths around the world to rise up and demand action.

For detractors though, getting her positions right first might lead to more fruitful counterarguments.

After all, not being a teenager is precisely why you shouldn't be the one getting personal with Thunberg.

Top image by Clara Margais via Getty Images.