The Yes Men
Artist: Andy Bichlbaum
Year: 2002
Date of Action: December 2002
Region: North America
Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion
Medium: Film Video
Confronting Bodies: NTT/Verio and Dow Chemical Company
Description of Artwork: Activist duo, The Yes Men, have produced three films which raise awareness about a number of problematic social and political issues. In the films, the impersonate and parody corporations and entities with whom they disagree.
The Incident: On December 3rd, 2004, Andy Bichlbaum appeared on BBC World as "Jude Finisterra," impersonating a Dow Chemical spokesman. He pretended to be in charge of the company responsible for the chemical disaster in Bhopal, India in which about 3,800 people died form hazardous chemicals. Bichlbaum continued to impersonate the Dow spokesperson until it was leaked that these interviews were entirely a hoax.
Results of Incident: After receiving many legal threats from Dow Chemical company, NTT/Verio declared that it terminated its contract with Thing.net for hosting a parody press release from the activist artist group.
Source:
The Yes Men (wikipedia)