Students from Colombia College teamed up with Greenpeace and The Yes Men to take on the Chicago coal industry in an elaborate, multi-layered hoax. The group created a scheme to announce that a new coal plant was planned—but instead of going in a poor neighborhood (like the two coal plants that already exist), this one would be built in a rich one.
First, they launched a fake website for a company called Midwest Generation, followed by hard copies of a letter from the city of Chicago to residents near the planned coal plant, warning them to stay vigilant in the face of impending health risks related to the plant. After that, residents received another letter from “ambulance chaser” lawyers encouraging them to litigate against the company. At last, a protest group emerged in response to the plan, pasting flyers all over the neighborhood. The protest actually happened, and was covered in the media.
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