Chevron has got problems.

While they company would rather be fielding questions about its new advertising campaign “We Agree,” about the need for corporate responsibility, Chevron is instead scrambling all press assets to respond to a prank unleashed by the Yes Men, Rainforest Action Network and Amazon Watch.

“We want the world to know that we’re just like you and me,” said Chevron Vice Chairman George L. Kirkland. “We’ve got problems and challenges, and we too make mistakes, but we’re telling truths no one usually tells, and looking wide-eyed into the future,” according to a fake press release posted on the website www.chevron-press.com.

The genuine article on Chevron.com says nothing about oil pollution in Ecuador, nor does it have specific language related to individually affected groups.

At least one major news outlet, Fast Company was caught up by the ruse, though they said if they were going to get punked by anyone, they were happy it was the Yes Men.

Factions within the group, spoofed The New York Times, printing thousands of copies of a fake special edition which claimed that the Iraq War had ended during the Autumn of 2008. Some of the same characters responsible for the Chevron attack were behind Hello Electric, a web petition to put pressure on former BP CEO Tony Hayward to begin promoting EVs and other clean cars.

As Fast Company pointed out, in light of the BP disaster, oil companies coming public with acts of contrition seems much more plausible, though in this case, the mea culpa was not actually done by Chevron.

Chevron has an renewable energy investment arm that has put money into companies such as Bright Source Energy, a solar panel maker, and Acumentrics, a solid oxide fuel cell maker.