The mayor of Greenland’s capital on Thursday called on media professionals and content creators to act responsibly after a failed attempt by a German comedian to hoist the United States flag.
Bavarian comedian Maxi Schafroth, 41, attempted to raise the American flag up a flagpole near the cultural centre in Nuuk, before he was confronted by angry passersby.
When questioned, he claimed to be a US official before leaving to disapproving looks from locals, according to a journalist at the scene with the Agence France-Presse news agency.
He was reported to the police and fined, local media said.
Avaaraq Olsen, mayor of Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq district which includes the capital, said the stunt was harmful to an “already vulnerable population”.
“Raising a flag at our capital cultural centre, the flag of a military superpower that for weeks has been implying military force against our country, is not a joke,” she said in a statement.
“It is not funny. It is immensely harmful.”
Olsen said Greenlanders, particularly children, were worried and afraid about the current situation.
“When you amplify those fears for content, clicks or laughs, you are not being bold or creative,” she said.
“You are adding to the distress of an already vulnerable population… So, pause before you film. Think before you stage something ‘funny’.
“Consider whether your next question or stunt will inform the world or simply make a child cry or a family feel less safe in their own country.”
Greenland’s government is working to alleviate the stress and anxiety of the population caused by United States President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to seize the Arctic territory.
Schafroth is known in Germany for his involvement in the satirical programme “Extra Drei”, broadcast by the NDR channel and attracting more than one million viewers.
In a statement to Germany’s Der Spiegel and the Ritzau agency, the channel expressed its “regrets” after the incident.
Trump’s long-standing territorial designs on Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, have triggered the most serious crisis in NATO’s history since it was formed in 1949.
He has since backtracked on a threat of using force to acquire Greenland and begun talks with Copenhagen and Nuuk.
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