Pranksters create turmoil at National Press Club
The Washington Post reports that a press conference held at the National Press Club today (Oct 19) purporting to be a statement by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reversing its position on climate change is a hoax.
Environmental activists held a hoax press conference Monday morning, pretending to be the business group -- and pretending to announce that the chamber was dropping its opposition to climate-change legislation now in Congress.
The event, complete with fake handouts on chamber letterhead, at least a couple of fake reporters, and a podium adorned with the chamber logo, broke up when a spokesman from the real chamber burst in.
The Post also reported that the prankster was confronted by an official from the real Chamber of Commerce who shouted that the giant business lobby has not changed its mind about global warming.
"This guy is a fake! He's lying! This is a stunt that I've never seen before," said Eric Wohlschlegel, an official at the actual Chamber of Commerce, who said he'd heard about the hoax event from a reporter who'd mistakenly shown up at the chamber's headquarters.
The fake Chamber of Commerce official, who called himself "Hingo Sembra," did not give his real name to reporters, saying only that he represented a coalition of climate activists.
The Guardian UK also reported that the event was a hoax, and it worked way too well.
In today's instant news era, that wasn't quite soon enough. Several green organizations tweeted or blogged on the about-face. Reuters news agency put out a straight news story about the Chamber's apparent U-turn, and the Washington Post and New York Times put the story on their news sites (both later removed the stories from their websites). CNBC actually sought – and got – comment from analysts. It also broke its programming to have a reporter read out the fake press release.
Another “balloon boy” stunt baffles the media
It looks like the 
mainstream news media has been taken in by another “balloon boy” story. However, it doesn't detract from how serious the issue is or how ticked off some of the Chamber's dues paying members are about the issue.
In recent weeks dues paying members like Exelon (NYSE:EXC), the nation’s largest nuclear energy utility, and Apple Computer (NASDAQ:APPL), quit in protest over the Chamber’s head-in-the-sand views on climate change legislation.
The prospects of empty pockets became real as its members did the unthinkable, and in independent, but unprecedented, actions, walked away from the top business lobby group in the country because it was unyielding in its opposition to President Obama’s climate change initiatives.
In the view of this blog the Chamber, and the remaining business groups that support it, ought to try science instead of politics. Then they won’t have to eat nearly so much crow when they do change their minds for real.
Video of the hoax press conference
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3 comments:
Eh ... How is this stunt different from any of the typical Greenpeace stunts that are regularly directed against nuclear power plants?
It's all just juvenile nonsense that detracts from the real issues. There is no "science" here, just a bunch of fools acting foolish. Move along, folks.
Personally, I predict that this hoax will backfire. That this group of activists chose to pull this stunt during hoax week (i.e., at the same time that the "balloon boy" saga is coming to a head) will just make their joke seem all that more selfish and despicable.
You're going way overboard there Brian Mays.
The US chamber of commerce deserves to be mocked. It's pronouncements on climate science over the years are defensible only on the lowest common denominator of being free speech. So the Yes Men are fighting them on their chosen turf.
Well, Chris (crf), I don't know about that.
I'd say that the US Chamber of Commerce is simply looking out for the best interests of the majority of its members, who stand to be hurt financially if energy prices significantly increase.
Those members who recently quit the Chamber are simply looking after their best interests too -- whether because their main manufacturing centers are located overseas and will not be affected by US legislation (Apple and Nike), or because they are well positioned to increase profits as a result of a cap-and-trade policy, either directly by selling their rights to pollute or indirectly from greater profit margins as the price for electricity increases while their costs of generation largely do not (Exelon and PG&E), or because their brand is highly dependent on being trendy, alternative, and popular and they're currently trying to rebrand themselves as a "green company" (Apple).
This whole Chamber of Commerce melodrama has been driven by self-interest on all sides.
Currently, the Chamber opposes a particular piece of proposed legislation, and it is calling for greater transparency in the decision making process to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions. Well, Waxman-Markey is hardly a panacea, and I, for one, am not about to argue for less transparency. So, I don't have a problem with the Chamber taking a stand and asserting its own position, whether I agree with it or not.
The juvenile stunts of the "Yes Men," on the other hand, do nothing to further rational discussion in this debate.
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