top of page
Log in
Register
Checkout

Identity Correction

The other main theme that arose from our group work was the tactic of identity correction. In a Beautiful Trouble by Andrew Boyd, identity correction is ‘exposing an entity’s inner workings to public scrutiny’ (Boyd, 2012: 60). This is a tactic frequently used by the Yes Men, who are at the forefront of political activism. The idea is that you pick a target and think of something true that they would never say. In our case, Morrison’s would never admit to sourcing their roses from areas of Colombia that fall victim to poor working conditions, so we said it for them, subtly. Effectively, ‘instead of speaking truth to power, you assume the mask of power to speak a little lie that tells a greater truth’ (Boyd, 2012: 60). It is a tactic that is frequently used by political activists, the Yes Men and from looking into their various ‘stunts’, such as posing as a Dow Chemical spokesman on live TV addressing the issue of compensation surrounding the Bhopal Disaster, it becomes clear that by performing from within corporations you are able to contaminate, through ‘artistic intervention, economic and financial production processes’ (Giannachi, 2007: 31). And although performed on a smaller scale, the principle behind Worrisons lay parallel to the principle behind identity correction, to force a reaction from the target because ‘they can’t let the lie that tells the truth stand in the media’ (Bichlbaum in Boyd, 2012: 61).

bottom of page