US Chamber of Commerce Sues the Yes Men

By Minara El-Rahman on November 12, 2009 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

It seems like the US Chamber of Commerce doesn't have a very good sense of humor. Ars Technica reports that on top of their dislike of regulation and skepticism on climate change, they are now suing the comedic activist group called the Yes Men for fraud over the group's parody of the Chamber for their position on climate change.

The US Chamber of Commerce came under fire back in April because it filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency that evidence for climate change should be presented in public hearings. When that silly petition was ignored, they went even further and asked for a public trial which would question the science behind climate change as well as the laws that are in place to prevent it. This really made a lot of people angry with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and rightly so. It was only when big businesses such as Apple withdrew from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that it did an about face on its stance.

However, the damage was done. As a result, the comedy group Yes Men took advantage of the situation and staged a complete parody of the US Chamber of Commerce where they staged a fake press conference and a website that wanted "an immediate moratorium on lobbying and publicity work opposing climate legislation."

Here is a video of the press conference parody here:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is representing the Yes Men. The group is being sued for fraud. The Chamber of Commerce claims that the parody was not just a parody but a publicity stunt for the group for their books and movies.

You can check out the actual complaint submitted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce here. It claims a number of things including fraudulent misrepresentation, unfair competition, tarnishment, injurious falsehoods and cybersquatting as defined by the Consumer Protection Act; as well as a charge of civil conspiracy.

Related Resources:

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Files Suit Against Critics, Suspends Other Activities (Yes Men Page)
EFF to Represent Yes Men in Court Battle Over Chamber of Commerce Action (EFF Press Page)
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Complaint (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)