A spokesman claiming to speak for Dow Chemical declared on BBC TV in
December that for the first time Dow would accept full responsibility
for the 1984 disaster in which lethal gas escaped into the city of
Bhopal, India, from a pesticide factory owned by Union Carbide, which
became a Dow subsidiary in 1999. In what has been called one of the
worst industrial disasters in history, the gas release killed thousands
and left tens of thousands still suffering debilitating illness.
Jude Finisterra, who identified himself as a spokesman for the company,
made the announcement on the 20th anniversary of the disaster. He
outlined the company’s plans to liquidate Union Carbide and use the $12
billion proceeds to compensate victims and clean up the site.
Finisterra also announced that the company would finally release the
full chemical composition of the toxic cloud and the findings from
studies that Union Carbide conducted shortly after the disaster.
In a few hours the story spread on news wires around the world,
appearing twice on Reuters. It was heralded with jubilation in Bhopal
and cost Dow a $2 billion plunge on the Frankfurt stock exchange. That was until the
BBC revealed one small problem with the story: Jude Finisterra did not
represent Dow. His real name is Andy Bichelbaum; he is a member of the
Yes Men.
Identifying themselves as “honest people” who “impersonate big time
criminals in order to publicly humiliate them,” the Yes Men earlier
achieved notoriety by masquerading as representatives of the World
Trade Organization and announcing its abolition (see YES!, Winter
2005). Their pranks employ the following formula: A website purports to
represent some organization; an unwary journalist or convention
organizer requests a statement or appearance; a politically pointed
prank ensues.
In an interview on Democracy Now!, Bichelbaum said the latest ruse
began with their website, www.dowethics.com. Someone from the BBC
e-mailed a request for an official statement on the disaster’s
anniversary. The BBC broadcast two apologies following the hoax, and
Dow reiterated its disavowals of responsibility for Bhopal, later
regaining all its lost stock price.
Darrin Burgess is a former YES! magazine intern. There is no connection between the Yes Men and YES! magazine.
