German Police Swat Down Conspiracy Theory They Staged Arrest of Smiling Greta Thunberg

German police denied mounting chatter on social media that the recent detainment of climate activist Greta Thunberg was staged for cameras.

Thunberg was detained by police along with other protesters demonstrating against the expansion of a coal mine. Footage of the incident show a smirking Thunberg being carried by her arms and legs by police. She is then put down and police stand for a few moments with her, Thunberg smiling at someone off camera and having her picture taken repeatedly.

The footage quickly went viral on social media with a number of Thunberg’s critics questioning the odder moments from her detainment and questioning whether the whole thing was staged. German police responded to this chatter in a Wednesday statement.

“We would never give ourselves to make such recordings,” a police spokesperson told the BBC.

The spokesperson denied Thunberg was being allowed to pose for pictures, claiming police had to wait to bring her to a certain car, blasting those questioning the detainment as having “political motives.”

“The whole situation has been used by those with political motives and the real reason is entirely practical and mundane,” the spokesperson said.

Footage of Thunberg has drawn plenty of attention. Fellow climate activist Al Gore shouted out Thunberg as the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, even claiming she was “arrested,” though she was only briefly detained and then released.

Thunberg confirmed her detainment too in a Wednesday tweet, saying she was released quickly by police.

“Yesterday I was part of a group that peacefully protested the expansion of a coal mine in Germany. We were kettled by police and then detained but were let go later that evening. Climate protection is not a crime,” she wrote.

Watch above via NBC News