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Here's some cringe-worthy video of the faux-event.
Note that there are some fake "reporters" planted in the audience as well to lend credence to the proceedings.
I'm curious what you think of this. I confess, I love irreverence. And if it succeeds in winding some people up (and as long as no one gets hurt), well, that just means it's working.
But more importantly, the policies of the USCoC are certainly front and center today, aren't they?
As I wrote elsewhere on the EnergyCollective, the hoax worked entirely too well catching the mainstream media completely off-guard.
From a tactical point of view, it managed to achieve its intended objective, which was to put the media spotlight on the policy position of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
From the perspective of the declining credibility of the mainstream news media, it offered another alarming indication that we will see more "ballon boy" type hoaxes int he future undercutting the public's ability to tell the real from the inplausible. Note that the current recession is gutting newsrooms. The NY Times announced plans this week to eliminate 100 newsroom jobs through buyouts or layoffs.
My own experience with this episode is that Gil Friend, over at Natural Logic, and I, both of whom have decades of experience dealing with the news media, had to do several double takes to figure out what was really happening at the National Press Club.
In my case, a check at the real Chamber of Commerce website revealed no press event. The organizers of the hoax had even gone so far as to obtain a fishy URL that looked remarkably like the real one.
In the end, hoaxes are not a substitute for legislation nor for decisions by the members of the Chamber of Commerce to vote with their checkbooks by leaving a reactionary organization, e.g, Exelon, the nation's largest nuclear utility, and Apple Computer, among others.
Posted May 11, 2012 by Scott Edward Anderson
Posted May 9, 2012 by Doris de Guzman
Posted April 30, 2012 by Willem Post
May 24, 2012, Wroclaw, Poland
June 4, 2012, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
June 4, 2012, Moscow, Russia
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Scott Edward Anderson is a consultant, blogger, and media commentator who blogs at The Green Skeptic. More »
Marc Gunther is a writer, speaker and consultant, who focuses on business and the environment. More »
Christine Hertzog is a consultant, author, and a professional explainer focused on Smart Grid. More »
Jesse Jenkins is the director of energy and climate policy at the Breakthrough Institute. More »
Robert Rapier works in the energy industry and writes and speaks about energy and the environment. More »
Geoffrey Styles is Managing Director of GSW Strategy Group, LLC and an award-winning blogger. More »
Dan Yurman is a nuclear energy blogger and writes regularly for Fuel Cycle Week. More »
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