For those who missed it, this week’s “Amusing Monday” came early on Thursday, when a fake video was posted on YouTube claiming to show a party being held to celebrate the sendoff of oil rigs to the Alaskan Arctic.
It seems like a funny and creative stunt, even knowing that it had nothing to do with Shell. But I do believe that it damages the credibility of those involved, especially those who had some credibility to begin with.
Greenpeace bloggers played an important role in trying to convince people that the video was real. Here’s a portion of the post by Guy Usher:
“So I just spoke with one of our experienced oil campaigners at Greenpeace International and did a little digging, to find out a little more about the guests at Shell’s swanky event.
“The Chief Engineer of the Kulluk (who was the guest of honor) worked for Mitsui. You know what else Mitsui built? The Deepwater Horizon. And they paid a $90 million fine for the BP oil spill.
“The late husband of the woman who got sprayed in the face worked for Sedco. That’s Sedco as in Transocean-Sedco (or, as of 2003, just Transocean)—which owned the Deepwater Horizon.”
Well, the woman who played the wet, offended woman was actually Dorli Rainey, an 84-year-old activist who gained national attention when she was pepper-sprayed at an Occupy Seattle rally.
The video above provides a behind-the-scenes look at what it took to create the hoax along with a little political commentary.
