Yes Men

D'Oh: Embarrassed Canada Zaps Thousands Of Web Sites In Response To Yes Men Hoax

Justin Elliott | January 7, 2010, 9:01AM

Yes Men Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum

The Canadian government managed to temporarily wipe out 4,500 personal and small business Web sites last month as it frantically grappled with a climate change hoax by the Yes Men, enlisting the national cybersecurity agencies of Canada and Germany in the process, a Danish web hosting company and the Yes Men tell TPMmuckraker.

Yes Man Mike Bonanno, one of the marquee personalities of the lefty activist group, tells TPMmuckraker that the experience, in which a German Internet service provider shut down the Yes Men's parody Web sites in response to a Canadian demand, is "really unfortunate for free speech on the Internet. The kind of scary thing about this is that these hosting companies seem so eager to act in the interest of whoever has the most power."

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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."

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Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Suing Yes Men For "Commercial Identity Theft"

Zachary Roth | October 27, 2009, 9:57AM

Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue

Calling last week's hoax by the Yes Men "nothing less than commercial identity theft masquerading as social activism," the Chamber of Commerce is suing the prankster group and its allies for trademark infringement, unfair competition and false advertising, reports Mother Jones.

The Yes Men -- actors Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos (who also use the names Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, respectively), last week held a fake press conference in Washington DC, along with activists from the Avaaz Action Factory, in which they impersonated Chamber executives and announced that the group had shifted its opposition to real efforts at tackling global warming. A press release announcing the event fooled Reuters and other news outlets into reporting that the Chamber had changed its stance.

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Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Using Yes Men Hoax To Raise Money

Zachary Roth | October 23, 2009, 3:21PM

Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue

The Chamber of Commerce is trying to raise money off of that hoax press conference organized this week by a group of activist pranksters.

In an email to supporters, obtained by TPMmuckraker, Chamber exec Bill Miller writes that his organization is "under attack" and claims "MoveOn.org and other extremist groups are harassing our members."

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Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Wants Criminal Probe Of Yes Men Hoax

Zachary Roth | October 19, 2009, 3:43PM

Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants a criminal investigation into the hoax perpetrated this morning by activists, who sent out a fake press release from the Chamber falsely announcing that the group had shifted its opposition to serious efforts to tackle global warming.

A Chamber spokesman put out the following (real) statement this afternoon:

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Global Warming

Yes Men, Activist Group, Teamed Up On Chamber Hoax

Zachary Roth | October 19, 2009, 2:08PM

Well, it looks like we were right.

The Chamber of Commerce hoax was perpetrated by the Yes Men, in tandem with a group of activists known as the Avaaz Action Factory.

Yes Man Andy Bichlbaum showed up at the 11am press conference that had earlier been announced by a "Chamber of Commerce" press release, and, impersonating a Chamber executive, declared:

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Chamber of Commerce

Were Yes Men Behind Chamber Hoax?

Zachary Roth | October 19, 2009, 12:26PM

Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum of the Yes Men

It's not yet clear who perpetrated the hoax announcing that the Chamber of Commerce had changed its position on climate change. (It hasn't, and remains opposed to serious efforts to deal with the problem.)

But some evidence points to the Yes Men, a group of activists known for similar stunts.

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