Chevron Calls Out Pranksters Who Put Up Fake Site (Update: It Was All A Hoax)

UPDATE: This post was based on a hoax perpetrated by the corporate pranksters/filmmakers the Yes Men, who put out a fake press release under the Chevron name. The quote attributed to Chevron in the post came from the fake release. Thanks to Sara for pointing this out.

Original post:

Angry that someone put up a hoax site that mocks Chevron’s “We Agree” ad campaign, which is meant to convince customers big oil should take responsibility to cleaning up its environmental disasters, Chevron put out a press release that declares it’s out for virtual blood.

Here’s the fake site, which calls for the company to “support small business,” “put profits to good use” and get “behind the development of renewable energy.

And here’s the less-exciting real site, in which Chevron says only that it agrees oil companies should clean up their own messes.

Chevron’s lawyer says in a statement:

“Chevron does not take this attack lightly. We invest extremely heavily in our campaigns, and we take them extremely seriously. Such actions can never be tolerated.”

He adds:

“This hoax is part of an ongoing effort to blame Chevron for 18 billion gallons of toxic waste dumped in the Amazon during drilling operations,” said Rhonda Zygocki, Chevron vice president of Policy, Government and Public Affairs. “This blame game continues despite Chevron’s long-standing agreement with the Ecuadorian government which very obviously puts the issue behind us.”

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