CNN's decision to add 17-year-old Greta Thunberg to an expert Covid-19 panel has been blasted on social media.
Yesterday it was announced that the teen activist would be alongside a panel of medical experts in CNN's programme Coronavirus Facts and Fears.
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The panel includes former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, 71 and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Richard Besser, 60 — with CNN hosts Sanjay Gupta and Anderson Cooper.
• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website
However, social media watchdogs have slammed the move to add a teen climate activist on a panel with public health experts.
However, some did come to her defence.
However, Thunberg has denied that she'd be appearing in the capacity of an "expert" on a CNN coronavirus town hall.
The 17-year-old insisted that she'll only be interviewed about her activism as part of the programme Coronavirus Facts and Fears.
"Tonight I'll be interviewed on CNN to talk about the new campaign supporting @UNICEF during Covid-19 and about being an activist in a world altered by the coronavirus," Thunberg wrote on Twitter.
"It seems some people thought I was going to be on an expert panel, which of course has never been the case.
"I am an activist. The only people claiming that I'm an 'expert' are those who are trying to ridicule me.
"My message has always been to unite behind the science and listen to the experts."