Creative Activism
In the day break hours of July 4th 2009, as traders on Wall Street were making a mad dash to their cubicles just before the ringing of the Nasdaq bell, a team of volunteers were handing out free copies of the New York Times on Wall Street and on street corners around the country. This was no ordinary New York Times. The headline boldly declared “Iraq War Ends: Troops to Return Immediately” and a smaller headline just below read “Court Indicts Bush on High Treason Charge”. It took people a few head shakes and eye rubs to figure out that the copy they held in their hands was an impostor.
The Special Edition of the New York Times was one of the many hijinks cleverly executed by The Yes Men – a dynamic duo of activists that devise creative ways to infiltrate the media and use it as a platform for progressive dialogue about global issues and injustices.
The New York Times project, which was released 6 months after Obama’s election, offered America a look into a world where long awaited news finally arrived. So many readers wished those headlines were true. “It can be true, if we demand it,” The Yes Men insist.
The duo have also appeared at numerous global conferences as keynote speakers under fake aliases disguised as representatives from major corporations like Haliburton and Exxon to speak truths the companies spend millions trying to cover up. They even appeared on BBC Live making a false public announcement for Dow Chemicals, which led to a $2 billion drop in the Dow Jones Industrial stock index.
They call their form of activism “Creative Activism” and after years of dedicating their time and creativity to fighting injustice the Yes Men formed the “Yes Lab” to share their knowledge with fledgling activist groups. The Yes Lab is based on New York University’s city campus and hosts a series of “brainstorms and trainings to help activist groups carry out media-getting creative actions, focused on their own campaign goals.” The Yes Lab also operates online and travels to other college campuses around the country.
The video above features an interview with The Yes Men at the premier of their second feature-length documentary “The Yes Men Fix The World” at the Sundance Film Festival.