The line comes from Greta Thunberg's speech at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019, where her forceful delivery made "How dare you" a widely shared quote online. Clips from the speech spread across social media and were quickly repurposed as reaction audio for anger, disappointment and public calling out. It remains popular because the phrase is brief, understandable even out of context, and carries strong emotion without needing any setup. Meme editors often use it the same way they use a bruh reaction, but with a more serious tone.