The Yes Men are a collective of culture jammers who infiltrate high-profile events and impersonate nefarious entities in order to bring attention to critical issues, cheer-lead activists, and galvanize communities into more action.
The Yes Men use any means necessary to agree their way into the fortified compounds of commerce, ask questions, and smuggle out the stories of their undercover escapades to provide a public glimpse at the behind-the-scenes world of corporate and government malfeasance.
Their actions aim to change policy through drawing coverage from major media outlets on normally under-reported issues. Their Chevron action led to a $9.5 billion judgement against Chevron. Posing as a Dow Chemical representative on a live BBC broadcast, they announced that Dow would spend $12 billion to compensate the victims of the Bhopal chemical disaster they caused, resulting in a crash in Dow’s stock price. The Yes Men held a press conference as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and announced that the lobbying giant were going to completely reverse their regressive environmental policy and support emissions reduction legislation.
Today, they are an ever-expanding, increasingly diverse group who partner with activist groups on creative tactics to further campaigns.
The Yes Men have collaborated with Fridays For Future, Extinction Rebellion, Sunrise, SumOfUs, Aavaaz, Greenpeace, Build Homes Now (Belfast), Reclaim the City (Cape Town), Stop Line 3 (Minnesota), GSOA (Switzerland), Houston Art Car Parade, Code Pink, Roskilde Festival, Act Up, Funny or Die, Courage Campaign, Fossil Free, Breakthrough, Sin Maiz No Hay Vida, Dreamers Campaign, Counter Balance, Public Eye, Earth Rights International, Sierra Club, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Americans for Safe Access, Global Trade Watch, Canvass for a Cause, Federal Accountability Coalition, US Uncut, Action Aid, and many other organizations.
