| An image of the spoof site. |
Notorious corporate pranksters The Yes Men are calling for a citizen’s arrest of Paulson & Co. founder John Paulson.
In an elaborate and slickly-executed spoof, a coalition of activists led by The Yes Men put out a full website and media alert purporting to be from Apple about “conflict free” iPhones. The campaign, designed to skewer Apple for using conflict-fueling minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo in their products, calls for consumers to take action through political and corporate pressure.
One idea in the “What you can do” website section involves a certain well-known hedge fund manager. “You can also perform a citizen’s arrest against shareholders and officers of the mining companies that have been implicated in pillaging the resources of the Congo and fueling the conflict in the Congo over the past 14 years,” reads the page. “Why not start with John Paulson, the majority shareholder of AngloGold Ashanti, the mining company most responsible for financially supporting rebel groups and furthering the Congo conflict. His office is located in New York at 1251 6th Ave, Floor 50.”
The media alert contains a link to a Bloomberg Businessweek description of Paulson & Co., which includes phone and fax numbers. A Paulson spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment as to whether the Paulson office had been visited or called as a result of the campaign.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the spoof. The Yes Men confirmed they were involved.
The Yes Men have been behind recent campaigns spoofing Chevron, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, ExxonMobil, The World Trade Organization and others for perceived failures on such issues as global warming and human rights.
See the full fake site at http://apple-cf.com
