December 04, 2004
"Yes Men" without remorse for hurtful hoax
The Yes Men think they are clever. They think they are combating the evils of "Corporate America" and world financial institutions with hoaxes designed to embarrass them. Oh, and did I mention they think they are clever?
A quick read of the FAQs on their website shows how clever they think they are. It is enough to make you wonder if this exercise isn't, in fact, more about them than it is about the cause they claim to advance.
They have pulled harmless hoaxes on accountants, the media and others usually by setting up mock websites that take in a few people who realize what they've landed on, have a good laugh and move on. This is witty, but not that clever.
Some of those taken in by their websites didn't get the joke and invited them to speak at a conference, so the Yes Men spoke. Funny, but still not clever.
This week the Yes Men tried something new. They decided to exploit the media coverage of the anniversary of the disastrous gas leak from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India. The plant is now owned by the Yes Men-targeted Dow Chemicals. A "Yes Man" was contacted by the BBC because he was claiming to be a representative of Dow and that he was set to announce a 12-billion pound ($23-billion US) settlement with the people of Bhopal. The BBC (in a Dan Rather-esque display of journalistic fact-checking) broadcast an interview with the man, he made his announcement and it was greeted with both jubilation and relief in Bhopal. News that the whole thing was a stunt was understandably devastating to the people of Bhopal. This was not funny, not witty and certainly not clever. It was hurtful and demeaning.
It is yet another western victimization of the people of that city.
The Yes Men have said they "felt bad" about the reaction in Bhopal but have yet to apologize for their self-serving insensitivity. They claim they haven't done anything that Dow hasn't been doing for 20 years. I beg to differ.
It is quite right to say Dow has, to its discredit, never promised an appropriate compensation package to the people of Bhopal. What the Yes Men did was far worse: they promised it and then took it away.
I am therefore emailing this post to the Yes Men with the simple request that they publicly apologize to the people Bhopal for their stunt.
Further Reading:
BBC reputation hit by Bhopal interview hoax (The Guardian)
BBC apologizes for Union Carbide hoax (Los Angeles Daily News)
BBC confesses to falling for Bhopal hoax (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
BBC apologises for bogus Bhopal interview (The Independent)
Posted by maxthecat at December 4, 2004 09:54 AM
http://www.maxsmewsings.com/mt/archives/2004/12/yes_men_without_remorse_for_hurtful_hoax.php