Yes Men shock, mock and raise queries
By Jennifer Bissell

Seeking answers on a controversial group, the Yes Men, a reporter attends a lecture given by the men known for posing as high ranking corporate and government officials. Instead, she is only left with more questions.

What was I doing here?  On a whim, I decided to see the Yes Men on August 24 at Shambaugh Auditorium.  I had no idea who they were or what their message was, but pushing my way to one of the few remaining seats, I figured any lecture that could attract a full audience in the first week of school couldn't be too bad.

Tools of the trade: satire and "identity correction"

As the lecture began, I understood why these men are so popular.  They use satire and “identity correction” to point out the flaws in society.  Clip after clip showed the men pretending to be leading officials from DOW chemical company, the Bush campaign and even the World Trade Organization, getting thousands of people to believe their spoofs.

On one memorable occasion, one of the Yes Men went live on the BBC as a representative from DOW.  When asked of his thoughts on the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal union carbide leak which immediately killed 10,000 people with an additional 10,000 over time, he claimed DOW took full responsibility for the leak and would take all physical and financial steps to make amends with the country and people affected by the disaster.

As the rest of the audience laughed at the anti-mainstream messages the Yes Men presented, I was unable focus on their antics.  I couldn't get past one thing: How in the world have these men not been caught?

Imposters on a mission

It’s one thing to go into a lecture and spread a message contrary to what the WTO preaches, but how do you get on the BBC — a world-renown news source — and claim to be someone else?

It’s been pounded in my head my entire journalist career: Check your sources!  The Yes Men had a logical answer when that question was asked: similar web sites.  It was a simple mistake made by the BBC and others, they thought they were getting the real thing.

The Yes Men use the web to create imposter sites and to promote their ideas on their own web site.  In addition, they use web domains similar to those used by real companies to attracted visitors and book gigs.  For example, WTO.com hadn’t been registered, so when the Yes Men discovered this, it became the “mock” WTO web site.  Many people visited the fake WTO site by mistake and booked the Yes Men for their conferences.

It’s even more amazing to think the Yes Men have their own web site promoting what they do.  Anyone who goes to http://www.yesmen.com can read their mission statement, watch their videos and even buy their merchandise. 

But even with that explanation, it was still hard to believe they aren't in jail.  With their faces plastered on the BBC as imposters and several thousand people witnessing their antics, surely by now they would have been caught.  But instead they get asked to speak at events and use the media to spread their message

As everyone filed out of the auditorium and headed to their various activities—a quiet night at home, an evening at the library or perhaps a night at the bars—I left feeling even more out of place than when I began the night.  I can't even tell a white lie to my parents, yet the Yes Men lie daily.  Unbelievable.

Edited for the web by Lee Hermiston