TPMMuckraker Andy Bichlbaum
Chamber of Commerce
Yes Man: Chamber Lawsuit Is "A Comedy And A Travesty"
Zachary Roth | October 29, 2009, 3:57PM
The Chamber of Commerce's lawsuit against the Yes Men is "a comedy and a travesty," according to one member of the prankster group and a target of the suit.
"All they care about is taking money out of ordinary people's pockets and putting it in the pockets of the super rich," Mike Bonanno told TPMmuckraker in an interview this afternoon.
Topics: Andy Bichlbaum, Chamber of Commerce, Global Warming, Mike Bonanno
Chamber of Commerce
Chamber Vs. Yes Men: Frivolous Lawsuit, Or IP Theft?
Zachary Roth | October 28, 2009, 5:44PM
Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue and the Yes Men
By suing the Yes Men over a prank, the Chamber of Commerce certainly isn't doing anything to change its reputation as a greedy and humorless bunch of suits that puts corporations ahead of the little guy. But could the joke be on the Yes Men by the time this is over?
A quick recap: Last week, the Yes Men, a group of political pranksters working with the activist group Avaaz, set up a mock website that looked like the Chamber's, and held a mock press conference where they announced that the Chamber was shifting its opposition to serious efforts to address global warming. The stunt fooled Reuters and other outlets, who reported the position change, before issuing corrections. In response, the Chamber first tried to have the mock site taken down, then sued the Yes Men for trademark infringement, charging that the prank was "nothing less than commercial identity theft masquerading as social activism."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (10) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Andy Bichlbaum, Chamber of Commerce, Global Warming, Yes Men
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