BP protesters create fake Olympics website amidst sponsorship anger
A group of anti-BP activists have created a hoax London 2012 Olympics site in protest at the oil majors sponsorship of the event.
He doppelganger was a faithful reproduction of the real site in every regard, save for the inclusion of a fake news story proclaiming that BP had been dropped as a ‘sustainability partner’ for the games.
It entailed issuing an email purportedly issued by Olympics organisers, containing a link to the faux-Olympics site, and was devised in less than 24 hours.
Campaign for a Sustainable Olympics, the pressure group behind the stunt, devised the stratagem in the evident belief that their wishful thinking would become self-fulfilling - but has raised concern that a motley array of pressure groups and individuals harbouring grievances are ramping up disruptive ploys in the run up to the Games.
A spokesperson for the group said: “This company was masquerading as being sustainable and green and a friend to the environment which they are not. We decided to masquerade as Locog and drop them as a sponsor.”
It follows a coalition of pressure groups including the London Mining Network, Bhopal Medical Appeal and the UK Tar Sands Network launching a direct campaign against three controversial Olympics sponosrs – Dow Chemical, Rio Tinto and BP.