Bhopal on the BBC
Did you see that the BBC was duped by an activist group claiming to be from Dow Chemical?
Last week was the 20th anniversary of one of the worst man-made disasters of all time – the gas leak at a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India. The leak instantly killed 7,000 people, and ultimately contributed to the deaths of tens of thousands more. Dow Chemical, Union Carbide’s parent company, has yet to adequately compensate the victims.
Last Friday the BBC had on someone claiming to be a spokesperson for Dow, who said that Dow had finally accepted responsibility for the leak and was moving to adequately compensate its victims to the tune of $12 billion. Except that the “spokesperson” was part of an anticorporate team of pranksters, as only the British can do it, called the “Yes Men” – you can see a replay of the broadcast here .
Dow was forced to admit that it was in fact not doing anything of the sort. Bhopal victims temporarily (and perhaps unfortunately) had their hopes raised.
Still, a marvelous piece of work.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.
The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers.
Plug-in hybrids are often sold as a transition to EVs, but new data from Europe shows we’re still underestimating the emissions they produce.
How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets
When wastewater surveillance turns into a hunt for a single infected individual, the ethics get tricky.
Google DeepMind’s new generative model makes Super Mario–like games from scratch
Genie learns how to control games by watching hours and hours of video. It could help train next-gen robots too.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.