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Mar 4, 2005

"Listen closely as those around you speak; great truths are revealed in jest." --Anonymous

Corporate Tricksters

On December 3, Dow Chemical "spokesman" Jude Finisterra appeared on the BBC to make an astonishing announcement: His company, now parent to Union Carbide, would mark the 20th anniversary of the lethal gas leak in Bhopal, India, which killed 20,000 and injured 120,000, by paying out $12 billion to the survivors—"simply because it is the right thing to do." Unbelievable? Sure it was. Within a few hours, Finisterra had been unmasked as an impostor, while the real Dow quickly reiterated that it wouldn't give a single rupee to the people of Bhopal—cementing its reputation as a corporate grinch. This is another controversial stunt and unique form of protest by The Yes Men, the media savvy duo that are keeping corporations on their toes.