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2016
saanvijain

Impersonation 1 Favorite 

This is just a few examples, very far from complete, of people who have used impersonation and fakery for good.

  • 621 reads

Gallery Projects

Carlos Slim Laugh Machine
Practitioner
new yorkers, The Yes Men
Date
May 9 2013

Inspired by the Laughing Farmers of Karnataka, protesters in New York make Carlos Slim's visit to New York uncomfortable while he appears on a "Live From NYPL" program. This excellent video summarizes the action.

Read more
Ace Bank
Practitioner
Liat Berdugo
Date
Oct 1 2006

ACE Bank was a hoax bank developed as part of a bigger campaign by Netwerk Vlaanderen, a Belgian organization concerned with banks’ responsibilities for what they invest in. ACE bank was an elaborate deception, with a headquarters in central Brussels, parodying other banks. It claimed to be investigating whether there was a market for its special way of doing business.

Read more
Pigasus for President
Practitioner
Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Yippies
Date
Aug 23 1968

At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, the Yippies (Youth International Party) nominated a pig for president, with the campaign pledge: “They nominate a president and he eats the people. We nominate a president and the people eat him.” This porcine political maneuver was the brainchild of sixties activists Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin.

Read more
The Yes Men - Bhopal Hoax
Practitioner
The Yes Men
Date
Dec 3 2004

“I am very, very happy to announce that for the first time, Dow is accepting full responsibility for the Bhopal catastrophe. We have a $12 billion plan to finally, at long last, fully compensate the victims, including the 120,000 who may need medical care for their entire lives, and to fully and swiftly remediate the Bhopal plant site,” said the supposed Dow Chemical spokesman, Jude Finisterra, on Dec. 3, 2004, during an appearance on BBC World.

Read more
GM Announces Climate Commitment
Practitioner
Ailie Rutherford
Date
Nov 29 2006

Concerned Citizens impersonated LA Autoshow hosts, interrupting a keynote speech from the General Motors' CEO. They present a pledge on behalf of GM, committing in writing to becoming an leader in fuel efficiency, and to follow through on all the environmental rhetoric promised in speech. The real CEO refuses.

Read more
Pranksters Prank Nobodies Into Believing Some Nobody Is Somebody
Practitioner
Chill Hill Media
Date
Apr 10 2012

BY NEETZAN ZIMMERMAN The Chill Hill Media gang descend upon a popular Virginia mall to conduct a simple social experiment: Turn team member Thomas Elliot into a celebrity through sheer force of suggestion.With the help of a few friends brought in to pretend Thomas is a famous actor, Chill Hill was able to persuade "tons" of mall-goers that they were in t

Read more
Social Experiment: 65-Year-Old Man Tries To Marry A 12-Year-Old Girl In NYC
Practitioner
Youtuber Coby Persin
Date
Feb 24 2016

The statistics in regards to older men marrying young girls is mind boggling and disgusting. Every day 33,000 girls are married to older men, denied their rights to education and opportunity and robbed of their childhood.

Many countries around the world find this practice normal, thankfully we do not find it normal here in the United States. More than 91 countries allow girls as young as six-years-old to be married. This is a problem.

Read more
Cheat Neutral
Practitioner
Christian Hunt, Alex Randall
Date
Nov 19 2009

Cheat Neutral satirizes the carbon offset model by offering people the opportunity to pay someone else not to cheat on their partner in order to neutralize their own infidelity. Cheatneutral allows you to pay £2.50 to carry on cheating while funding “monogamy-boosting offset projects”.

Read more
The Vegan CEO of Smithfield Foods
Practitioner
DXE
Date
Dec 22 2020

According to Direct Action Everywhere, activist Matt Johnson was able to get booked on Bartiromo’s show as Smithfield Foods’ new CEO and President Dennis Organ. During the interview, he warned viewers that factory farms like the ones Smithfield operates could create the next pandemic, without raising any suspicion from Bartiromo, who simply plowed forward with the segment.

Read more
Prank Call to Governor Scott Walker
Practitioner
Ian Murphy
Date
Feb 12 2011

A New York blogger impersonating David Koch successfully prank called Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. David Koch is one of the two wealthy brothers who were big donors to his political campaign and GOP efforts generally.

Read more
Santa Claus Army
Practitioner
Solvognen
Date
Dec 25 1974

In the early 1970s, Denmark was hit by the energy crisis sweeping the globe. A rise in the price of oil led by the nations of OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) led to a global economic slow-down, especially in industrialised nations.

Read more
Fake Drone Crash on UCSD Campus
Practitioner
Ricardo Dominguez
Date
Dec 12 2007

Students at the University of California-San Diego were surprised when an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, commonly referred to as a drone, crashed in the middle of campus — or at least they thought that’s what happened.

Read more

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