All hijinks... ever
These are projects carried out over the years by Yes Men and their activist partners. For the full, gory stories behind them, take a peek behind the curtain.
A Total Terrorism Solution For Europe
In the European Parliament in Brussels, a "defense and security consultant" presented the ENDURAsphere, an "industrial solution to terrorism" which—unlike all other military and security solutions—is guaranteed to actually work. Read all about it, …
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Skip Showers for Beef
As California's drought worsens, attempts at curbing personal water use have gotten more and more drastic. Even the state's legendary agricultural industry has been the target of concern over its large water requirements. Enter Skip Showers for Beef…
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Shell's Last Iceberg Snow Cones
Royal Dutch Shell has spent billions on its plans to drill for oil in the Arctic. Despite setbacks, in the spring and summer of 2015, they were ramping up operations to go drill in areas made newly accessible by climate change. To counter the…
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Hoax Dog Video Highlights Government's Treatment Of Firefighters
A YouTube video depicting older firefighters accidentally blowing a dog into a raging fire, which has spread globally via social media, was part of an elaborate hoax intended to oppose dangerous pension reforms for firefighters. The reforms, which…
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Calling All Climate Activists
Before the UN Climate Talks in Lima, the New York Times told us that “at stake now is the difference between a newly unpleasant world and an uninhabitable one.” But in Lima, the world's governments chose the latter, offering the world not solutions…
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Black Pete is beloved, totally racist
In the form of entertaining caricature, black face has been used throughout the Western world to justify slavery, to emphasize white superiority, and to reinforce racial segregation. It has taken many different appearances over the last few hundred…
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The Gazprom/Shell Polar Partnership
In 2012, Royal Dutch Shell failed to drill a single hole in the Arctic off the coast of Alaska thanks to a series of dangerous blunders and mismanagement that led to the U.S. government calling the company "screwed up." This year, they trained their…
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Monsanto and the Carnival of Corn
See also: "Monsanto attempts to silence criticisms of its transgenic seeds business" (in Spanish)
On August 14, 2013, the St. Louis based biotech corporation, Monsanto Company, released an announcement saying the Mexican government had finally,…
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Bank’s Dodgy Climate Portfolio Revealed
The mandate of the European Investment Bank (EIB) is to further EU sustainable development objectives, including Europe’s 2050 Energy Roadmap, which calls for quickly cutting carbon emissions. On their website, the EIB claims to be "among the…
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The Dalai Lama Welcoming Committee
On October 12, 2012, Middlebury College welcomed His Holiness the Dalai Lama to campus. An announcement was made that in honor of the visit from the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, the College had chosen to demonstrate ethical leadership in…
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Fake websites
Because a so-called fake website started the Yes Men, we've made dozens more over the years. These websites represent our opponents more transparently than they ever present themselves—making these true websites, not fake! Also, whereas sinister people use trickery to get outcomes, we reveal hoaxes to mobilize.
Videos
These are a few standalone short pieces we or our partners have made. For videos that reveal actions, are used within actions, or come out of actions, see our hijinks videos page.
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Behind the curtain
These are the secret stories of actions that Yes Men have been a part of—in all their complexity, and not as a movie or press release represented them. Be sure to check out the lessons we learned from these and other adventures; some might even be useful!
Photos
These are photos from various actions, usually in high-res.
Fake Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nov. 9, 2016
New Voting Machine Launched
Sabotage Foiled at Trump Soho Hotel
New York - An attempt to sabotage the launch of President-Elect Donald Trump’s new voting machine company was narrowly averted due to quick-witted security guards and bystanders.
"This morning’s event was a wonderful way to launch the new President’s voting machine in style," said Chase Holbrook…
Associated Hijinks: Trump Election Reporting Devices
NRA Denounces "Arm Everyone" Hoax
On June 22, an unidentified group of anti-gun "activists" sent out a fake press release claiming that the National Rifle Association was partnering with Smith & Wesson to distribute guns to inner-city victims of police violence, as a first step towards arming everyone in America.
This claim is completely fraudulent, as is the accompanying website, www.…
Associated Hijinks: NRA Shares the Safety
NRA and Smith & Wesson Partner to "Share the Safety"
Fairfax, Va.— American cities are hotbeds of crime, from gang violence to police brutality, but a major part of the problem is that the most vulnerable populations cannot afford to defend themselves. A new program from the National Rifle Association, in partnership with Smith & Wesson, seeks to change that.
Share the Safety is a…
Associated Hijinks: NRA Shares the Safety
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
UNODC Unveils Historic "4/20" Policy Redirect at UNGASS 2016
NEW YORK, 19 April 2016 - On the first day of the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) announced that they will adopt extensive reforms to their decision-making processes and encourage evidence-based drug policy that…
Associated Hijinks: UN Ends the War on Drugs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
United Nations Denounces “4/20” Hoax Press Release
UN urges pot smokers to opt out of drug violence by home growing
NEW YORK - A hoax press release was sent out from the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) yesterday claiming that the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem had been scheduled for April 19-21 in order to…
Associated Hijinks: UN Ends the War on Drugs
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Deplorable Prank Announcement Untrue
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Portland, Ore (May 19, 2014) -- A press release distributed by an unknown party and an announcement by the 2014 commencement speaker, both released today, contained false information regarding Reed College's divestment from fossil fuels. Reed College…
Associated Hijinks: Reed Divests
Divestment News Celebrated at Commencement Ceremony
Portland, OR (May 19, 2014) - Reed College's Board of Trustees approved with a majority vote a plan to divest its endowment of direct coal and oil industry investments and redirect funds to environmentally conscious investment managers and community owned renewable energy projects during a special meeting convened near the end of the academic…
Associated Hijinks: Reed Divests
This speech was presented on April 30, 2014 at the Homeland Security Congress (Crystal City Hilton, Arlington VA) by "Bana Slowhorse" of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (actually Gitz Crazyboy), just after the Department of Energy speech. It was followed by a "traditional" Indian circle dance.
I just want to say good morning and thank you for your time. I am Bana Slowhorse. I am the Director…
Associated Hijinks: Operation Second Thanks
This speech was presented on April 30, 2014 at the Homeland Security Congress (Crystal City Hilton, Arlington VA) by "Benedict Waterman," Undersecretary Of Policy Implemetation at the U.S. Department Of Energy. It was followed by "Bana Slowhorse's" speech.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to be here, and to make this announcement here.
On behalf of the Department of Energy, I…
Associated Hijinks: Operation Second Thanks
Hollywood Interference Rejected By Russian Energy Company
Despite a celebrity setback, Gazprom is marching ahead with its "Year of Ecology" animal relocation program. Having successfully saved entire populations of reindeer, birds, and salmon, the newest phase involves relocating polar bears from endangered Arctic habitats to zoos worldwide, preserving them for future generations. "We are…
Associated Hijinks: The Gazprom/Shell Polar Partnership
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 14, 2013
Mexico Grants Monsanto Approval To Plant Large-Scale GM Corn Fields
Company Addresses Opponents' Concerns With Museum, Seed Vault Initiatives
MEXICO CITY (Aug 14, 2013): The planting of genetically modified (GM) corn fields on a large commercial scale has been approved by the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture (SAGARPA). The permit allows the planting of…
Associated Hijinks: Monsanto and the Carnival of Corn
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 14, 2013
Monsanto Denounces "Activists" For Hoax Release
Earlier today a fraudulent press release was issued alleging that Monsanto had received a permit to plant 440,000 hectares of GM corn in Northern Mexico. While Monsanto does expect to receive such a permit in the near future, one has not yet been issued.
The release was the work of a group of international…
Associated Hijinks: Monsanto and the Carnival of Corn
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May 30, 2013FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Daniel Vargas
Communications Director
The Common Application, Inc.
(Office) 202.430.6048
Common Application, Inc. apologizes, bans discrimination against undocumented students across the country
NEW ORLEANS – Earlier today, The Common Application, Inc. issued a…
Associated Hijinks: DREAMers Keep On Dreaming
This is a transcript of the announcement made by "Daniel Vargas" at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education on May 30, 2013
It is an honor to be here at NCORE. Today is a historic day and it is fitting for this moment to take place at this conference. Represented here today are faculty and administrators from some of the most prestigious colleges across the…
Associated Hijinks: DREAMers Keep On Dreaming
February 27, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EIB will exclude all future coal finance as part of its new energy policy
Brussels - The European Investment Bank (EIB) will no longer finance coal fired power plants. The decision is being made in the context of the ongoing review of its Energy Lending Policy in order to better align the bank’s operations with the long-term climate objectives of the…
Associated Hijinks: Bank’s Dodgy Climate Portfolio Revealed
Middlebury College Divests from War in Honor of Dalai Lama VisitFor immediate release: 10/12/12
For further information contact: Tim Schornak, Dalai Lama Welcoming Committee, at (802) 433-4108
Middlebury, VT— Amidst excitement surrounding the visit of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Middlebury College has chosen to demonstrate ethical leadership in fully divesting its endowment from war. The…
Associated Hijinks: The Dalai Lama Welcoming Committee
Houston, TX (October 2, 2012) — Early Monday morning, 71,010 Shell employees received an email from the company's "Grassroots Employee Empowerment Division" providing information on Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, a pivotal human rights case being argued in the U.S. Supreme Court. The email contained links to news stories, as well as a tool to help employees tweet their feelings about the case…
Associated Hijinks: Murder Is Bad
July 31, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HOAXERS IMPERSONATE US ATTORNEY LAURA DUFFY,
THREATEN SAN DIEGO PHARMACIES WITH SHUTDOWN
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that unknown individuals have forged documents claiming that this office has initiated a shutdown pharmacies in the coastal areas of San Diego County. Many in the community have expressed outrage over the perceived…
Associated Hijinks: Flow of drugs in La Jolla stopped cold