On the Yes Men

The Yes Men’s critique of media is that the line between true and false is often very blurry. They take advantage of the weaknesses in production by presenting lies and getting them passed as truths. They stand on a stage and make a statement in a suit and it is considered valid. Though the media would generally not have a reason to distrust a press conference, their pranks turn the whole thing around. Generally we have real people telling lies. The media is trained to be critical of that. But it is rarely thought that the person speaking could be what is fake. It causes an explosion of self-awareness for the media sources. We are fallible. Additionally, it is a criticism of the fact checking that goes on, or lack of therefore, and even more so, the extent to which these lies can be spread and gain power.
I believe that to some extent the Yes Men take advantage of “false consciousness.” They present information. The viewer has the option to accept or reject it. If the view accepts it, they take it as their personal choice to accept it. But because we know that to reject it is the only way to truth, we can say that they have been fooled into accepting it. There is such a deeply ingrained routine of trust and accountability that if a man in a suit says something, we are tricked into believing it is always right.