Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
"Dow Chemical and Dow's PR firm, Burson-Marsteller, tried to shut down some parody sites and ended up bringing themselves a heap of negative publicity," writes Joyce Slaton. It all began when the Yes Men, impersonating Dow, created a site detailing Dow's responsibility in the Bhopal disaster. When Dow and B-M responded with legal threats, the story "was covered by tickled journalists from the London Times, The New York Times and many other sources and organizations, including Greenpeace. ... The upshot is that thousands upon thousands more people heard about Bhopal and the shameful conduct of both Dow and Burson-Marsteller than would have had the stung corporations not chosen to respond with threats."
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