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head2toemag @[email protected] · 2025-07-03 · 22:02 UTC

Why Do We Try to Talk Down Black Businesses?
Why is it that when it comes to supporting Black-owned businesses, we often try to negotiate their prices down – especially when there’s a service to be provided?
✅ Professionalism Deserves Respect
As the publisher of Head2Toe Magazine and Entertainment, I see this all the time. Business owners reach out to me, excited to be featured or promoted. But when I share the fee for advertising or being part of our platforms, suddenly, I hear crickets.
Let me be clear – I’m not talking about unprofessional Black-owned businesses. I’m not talking about the ones with poor customer service or inconsistent practices. I’m talking about the business owners who handle their businesses professionally, who have built a great reputation, and that’s exactly why they were contacted in the first place.
People fail to realize that every dollar a small business charges is rooted in cost, time, and labor. Most of us don’t have a corporate team backing us. We’re the CEO, admin, marketing department, social media manager, customer service rep, production team, and accountant – all rolled into one. We’re manning it ourselves until we can afford to hire help.
✅ The Corporate Double Standard
If we don’t work a traditional 9-5, that business income is what we survive on. It pays our bills, our children’s needs, and funds the business’s growth. Before we even open our doors or launch our services, we’ve invested hours – months – into research, education, and perfecting our craft.
Yet, when we set our prices, people want to debate us down to the lowest dollar. The same people will walk into major corporations and pay full price without question, but when it comes to us – to their own community – it’s, “Can you give me a deal?”
This mindset is one of the reasons it’s so hard to build generational wealth in the Black community. We undervalue each other while handing our money over to companies that don’t know our names, don’t care about our families, and don’t invest back into our communities.
✅ You’re Paying for More Than a Product or Service
Here’s the truth: You’re not just paying for a product or service. You’re paying for:
Knowledge and expertise
Time invested in education and research
Tools, equipment, and materials
The labor of creating and delivering
The sacrifices made by business owners and their families
When you choose to support a Black business, you’re contributing to a cycle of wealth that can uplift generations. You’re supporting dreams, building legacies, and empowering your own community to thrive.
So next time you want to say, “That’s too expensive,” ask yourself:
✔️ Do I really know what goes into this service or product?
✔️ Would I ask a major corporation for a discount?
✔️ Am I contributing to the cycle of struggle by refusing to pay my community what they’re worth?
Let’s normalize paying Black businesses their asking price. Let’s normalize respecting the value of the knowledge, labor, and time it takes to run a business. That is how we build generational wealth and empower our communities to grow beyond survival into success.
#BlackCulture #blackOwned #blackOwnedBusiness

#blackculture #blackowned #blackownedbusiness
DrWeb @[email protected] · 2026-01-28 · 17:24 UTC
Mozilla building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on OpenAI, Anthropic – CNBC
Mark Surman, president of Mozilla Foundation, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024. Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Tech
Mozilla is building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on industry heavyweights OpenAI, Anthropic
Published Tue, Jan 27 202612:00 PM EST, Updated Tue, Jan 27 20265:53 PM EST
By Ashley Capoot @/in/ashley-capoot/
Key Points
- Mozilla is focused on deploying its roughly $1.4 billion worth of reserves to support “mission driven” organizations, according to a new report.
- The nonprofit, also the parent of Firefox, is investing in artificial intelligence startups that are working on safety and governance issues in AI.
- It’s an uphill climb as Mozilla is going up against massive players like OpenAI and Anthropic as well as the Trump administration, which has loudly criticized what it calls “woke AI.”
Mark Surman, president of Mozilla Foundation, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024. Andrew Kelly | Reuters
From his small, snow-covered farm outside Toronto, home to cats and a dog, and soon some donkeys, Mark Surman has been laying the groundwork for a fierce battle with the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, located about 2,300 miles away in the San Francisco area.
The bespectacled 56-year-old is president of Mozilla, a nonprofit organization best known for its Firefox browser and a pledge to keep the internet open and accessible to all. Having taken on Microsoft in the browser market in the early 2000s, and Apple and Google in the years that followed, Mozilla is right at home playing the role of underdog.
These days, Surman is preoccupied with the tech industry’s influence over the next big thing: AI. And it’s too big of a challenge for Mozilla to tackle on its own.
Surman is building what he’s described as “a rebel alliance of sorts,” using a phrase that’s long been part of Mozilla’s lexicon. In this case, the alliance is a loose network of tech startups, developers and public interest technologists committed to making AI more open and trustworthy and to checking the power of industry heavyweights like OpenAI and Anthropic.
“It’s that spirit that a bunch of people are banding together to create something good in the world and take on this thing that threatens us,” Surman told CNBC in an interview. “It’s super corny, but people totally get it.”
In practice, Mozilla is focused on deploying its roughly $1.4 billion worth of reserves to support “mission driven” tech businesses and nonprofits, including its own, according to a report the organization released Tuesday. It’s pursuing investments that promote AI transparency, and can potentially act as a counterforce to companies that are growing at historic rates with limited guardrails.
Financially, Mozilla is at a massive disadvantage. In 2022, it launched a venture capital fund called Mozilla Ventures and pledged to invest an initial $35 million in early-stage companies. It’s now exploring raising additional funds.
Mozilla’s cash pile is dwarfed by OpenAI, which has raised more than $60 billion from investors across the globe, and its rival Anthropic, which has raised more than $30 billion, according to PitchBook. Tech megacaps like Google and Meta are also sparing no expense, shelling out billions of dollars to hire AI researchers and tens of billions a year to build out massive data centers.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo, Feb. 3, 2025.
Kim Kyung-hoon | Reuters
Mozilla represents a growing swath of the AI industry that’s afraid of what OpenAI has become and the power that it now wields.
When OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit AI lab in 2015, its stated goal was to “advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return.”
But in the decade that followed, OpenAI turned into a commercial entity with astronomical growth rates, transformed largely by the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.
OpenAI now sports a $500 billion valuation, and completed a recapitalization in October that cemented its future as a for-profit business under the umbrella of a nonprofit. It’s a structure that resembles Mozilla, but the similarities end there.
Only a few of OpenAI’s co-founders, including CEO Sam Altman, remain at the company, and a number of early employees who left have been sharply critical of what they broadly describe as a focus on growth at the expense of safety.
Among the loudest critics is co-founder Elon Musk, who departed in 2018, started a competitor called xAI in 2023, and then sued OpenAI and Altman for alleged breach of contract and financial damages. OpenAI has dismissed Musk’s efforts as part of a “campaign of harassment,” and the case is expected to head to trial in April.
OpenAI didn’t provide a comment, and xAI returned CNBC’s request for comment with an automated response.
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by a group of former OpenAI executives and researchers who disagreed with the company’s direction. But, even as it’s taken a more pro-safety stance in AI development, Anthropic has been racing alongside AI commercially, commanding a $350 billion valuation.
Multiple battles at once
Mozilla’s uphill battle is even steeper because of the position of the Trump administration, which is determined to stay ahead of China in the global AI race and has been quick to lash out at companies, states and lawmakers that are perceived as potential threats to that agenda.
David Sacks, the venture capitalist serving as the administration’s AI and crypto czar, accused Anthropic of supporting “woke AI” in October due to its approach on regulation. President Donald Trump in December signed an executive order for a single regulatory framework for AI, establishing a litigation task force to challenge state AI laws, namely those led by Democratic lawmakers.
An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment, but directed CNBC to a blog post from CEO Dario Amodei in October. Amodei wrote in the post that Anthropic had increased its revenue run rate from $1 billion to $7 billion in nine months, “and we’ve managed to do this while deploying AI thoughtfully and responsibly.”
David O. Sacks, chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, speaks to President Donald Trump next to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as Trump signs an executive order on AI in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Dec. 11, 2025. Al Drago | Reuters
Surman remains undeterred, and says Mozilla will be able to help “do for AI what we did for the web.”
“There is an alternative that’s real and is emerging, and it’s a lot of small pieces that add up to that alternative,” Surman said. “The people in it are hungry to look where there’s weak spots in the current market and take advantage of them.”
Mozilla has long viewed itself as a rebel.
In the 2024 “State of Mozilla” report, Surman used the phrase “rebel alliance” to describe the coalition of players that helped disrupt Microsoft’s dominance over the web. In 2020, Mozilla published a report titled “Mozilla & the Rebel Alliance,” which was dedicated to the organization’s alliance of “tens of thousands of people around the globe who believe in Mozilla.”
Even so, Surman said it took some time to convince his colleagues that the moniker applied to the AI era.
That process actually started long before generative AI took off. In 2019, Surman shifted the philanthropic and advocacy efforts of the Mozilla Foundation to focus on “trustworthy AI.”
By the spring of 2023, Mozilla had launched its venture firm and its own AI company, Mozilla.ai. The following year, Surman said Mozilla’s leadership agreed that keeping AI “trustworthy and open” was a fight worth picking.
While its biggest priority remains growing and investing in Firefox, investing in the rebel alliance is “at the heart of who Mozilla is today,” according to the report on Tuesday. Supporting startups is central to that strategy.
Mozilla Ventures has invested in more than 55 companies to date, including dozens of AI startups, with more deals to come in 2026.
Trail, a German startup that offers an AI governance solution for regulated enterprises, raised a pre-seed round in 2024, with participation from Mozilla.
Anna Spitznagel, who co-founded the company the prior year, said Trail and Mozilla are exploring ways to collaborate more closely, like by building an open-source framework. Mozilla has supported open-source technology since its origin in 1998.
But Spitznagel isn’t completely sold on Surman’s rebel alliance concept. She said it’s a “fun analogy” and wants to be aligned with the movement to enable trustworthy AI, but also wants in on the broader AI transformation.
“Rebel is a word that for me, personally, it has the wrong association,” Spitznagel said in an interview. “I do think about [AI] a bit differently, but I also want to be part of the revolution that actually enables us to deploy AI and not hinder it.”
Tony Salomone and Ali Asaria, co-founders of Mozilla portfolio company Transformer Lab, said they’re similarly on the fence.
“I’m not going to lie, I sometimes talk that way to get people kind of excited or engaged in our way of thinking,” Salomone said.
Founded in 2024, Transformer Lab is building open-source tools that developers can use to build, train and evaluate advanced AI models. The company has yet to publicly disclose any funding and, as of November, had fewer than 10 employees, mostly based in Canada.
Asaria said rebel alliance isn’t a term he’s used, but that there is an ecosystem of smaller AI companies that keep in touch and regularly cross paths at conferences and other events.
“There’s definitely a group of folks who are interested in this idea of trying to be sustainable companies that can have an impact on the industry and have an appreciation for AI, but don’t want to see just a few big companies win,” Asaria said.
‘Taking a lot of shortcuts’
When it comes to the big companies in AI, Surman cautioned that a “winner-takes-all” mentality still lurks behind their open-source efforts. He said their contributions to open-source communities are welcome, but that those same companies will “eat you if you’re not careful.”
It’s an issue that resonates with Oumi CEO Manos Koukoumidis. Backed by Mozilla, Oumi operates an open-source platform that researchers and engineers can use to train, fine-tune, evaluate and deploy AI models. Koukoumidis previously spent around a decade working in AI at Microsoft, Facebook and most recently Google, where he became disillusioned with the future he was building.
While all the big tech companies contribute to a variety of open-source projects, some of which they manage, Koukoumidis said the bigger objective at the “tech mammoths” is dominance. In terms of safety, he is “very confident that they’re taking a lot of shortcuts.”
Koukoumidis and Surman agree that a much larger community of researchers and entrepreneurs should be collaborating to advance AI, which is one of the goals of Oumi.
“Even the couple thousand people that are at OpenAI, Anthropic or anywhere else, because they’re operating in a silo, they’re not enough to advance this technology sufficiently, safely, cost efficiently, sustainably,” Koukoumidis said in an interview. “What’s happening right now, it’s complete insanity. We’re wasting billions, tens of billions, hundreds of billions.”
JOSEP LAGO | AFP | Getty Images
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Mozilla building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on OpenAI, Anthropic
Tags: AI, Anthropic, Apple, Billion Reserves, Browsers, Canada, CNBC, Firefox, Google, Mark Surman, OpenAI, Rebel Alliance, San Francisco, Toronto
#AI #Anthropic #Apple #BillionReserves #Browsers #Canada #CNBC #Firefox #Google #MarkSurman #OpenAI #RebelAlliance #SanFrancisco #Toronto
#ai #anthropic #apple #billionreserves #browsers #canada
DrWeb @[email protected] · 2026-01-28 · 17:24 UTC
Mozilla building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on OpenAI, Anthropic – CNBC
Mark Surman, president of Mozilla Foundation, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024. Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Tech
Mozilla is building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on industry heavyweights OpenAI, Anthropic
Published Tue, Jan 27 202612:00 PM EST, Updated Tue, Jan 27 20265:53 PM EST
By Ashley Capoot @/in/ashley-capoot/
Key Points
- Mozilla is focused on deploying its roughly $1.4 billion worth of reserves to support “mission driven” organizations, according to a new report.
- The nonprofit, also the parent of Firefox, is investing in artificial intelligence startups that are working on safety and governance issues in AI.
- It’s an uphill climb as Mozilla is going up against massive players like OpenAI and Anthropic as well as the Trump administration, which has loudly criticized what it calls “woke AI.”
Mark Surman, president of Mozilla Foundation, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024. Andrew Kelly | Reuters
From his small, snow-covered farm outside Toronto, home to cats and a dog, and soon some donkeys, Mark Surman has been laying the groundwork for a fierce battle with the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, located about 2,300 miles away in the San Francisco area.
The bespectacled 56-year-old is president of Mozilla, a nonprofit organization best known for its Firefox browser and a pledge to keep the internet open and accessible to all. Having taken on Microsoft in the browser market in the early 2000s, and Apple and Google in the years that followed, Mozilla is right at home playing the role of underdog.
These days, Surman is preoccupied with the tech industry’s influence over the next big thing: AI. And it’s too big of a challenge for Mozilla to tackle on its own.
Surman is building what he’s described as “a rebel alliance of sorts,” using a phrase that’s long been part of Mozilla’s lexicon. In this case, the alliance is a loose network of tech startups, developers and public interest technologists committed to making AI more open and trustworthy and to checking the power of industry heavyweights like OpenAI and Anthropic.
“It’s that spirit that a bunch of people are banding together to create something good in the world and take on this thing that threatens us,” Surman told CNBC in an interview. “It’s super corny, but people totally get it.”
In practice, Mozilla is focused on deploying its roughly $1.4 billion worth of reserves to support “mission driven” tech businesses and nonprofits, including its own, according to a report the organization released Tuesday. It’s pursuing investments that promote AI transparency, and can potentially act as a counterforce to companies that are growing at historic rates with limited guardrails.
Financially, Mozilla is at a massive disadvantage. In 2022, it launched a venture capital fund called Mozilla Ventures and pledged to invest an initial $35 million in early-stage companies. It’s now exploring raising additional funds.
Mozilla’s cash pile is dwarfed by OpenAI, which has raised more than $60 billion from investors across the globe, and its rival Anthropic, which has raised more than $30 billion, according to PitchBook. Tech megacaps like Google and Meta are also sparing no expense, shelling out billions of dollars to hire AI researchers and tens of billions a year to build out massive data centers.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo, Feb. 3, 2025.
Kim Kyung-hoon | Reuters
Mozilla represents a growing swath of the AI industry that’s afraid of what OpenAI has become and the power that it now wields.
When OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit AI lab in 2015, its stated goal was to “advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return.”
But in the decade that followed, OpenAI turned into a commercial entity with astronomical growth rates, transformed largely by the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.
OpenAI now sports a $500 billion valuation, and completed a recapitalization in October that cemented its future as a for-profit business under the umbrella of a nonprofit. It’s a structure that resembles Mozilla, but the similarities end there.
Only a few of OpenAI’s co-founders, including CEO Sam Altman, remain at the company, and a number of early employees who left have been sharply critical of what they broadly describe as a focus on growth at the expense of safety.
Among the loudest critics is co-founder Elon Musk, who departed in 2018, started a competitor called xAI in 2023, and then sued OpenAI and Altman for alleged breach of contract and financial damages. OpenAI has dismissed Musk’s efforts as part of a “campaign of harassment,” and the case is expected to head to trial in April.
OpenAI didn’t provide a comment, and xAI returned CNBC’s request for comment with an automated response.
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by a group of former OpenAI executives and researchers who disagreed with the company’s direction. But, even as it’s taken a more pro-safety stance in AI development, Anthropic has been racing alongside AI commercially, commanding a $350 billion valuation.
Multiple battles at once
Mozilla’s uphill battle is even steeper because of the position of the Trump administration, which is determined to stay ahead of China in the global AI race and has been quick to lash out at companies, states and lawmakers that are perceived as potential threats to that agenda.
David Sacks, the venture capitalist serving as the administration’s AI and crypto czar, accused Anthropic of supporting “woke AI” in October due to its approach on regulation. President Donald Trump in December signed an executive order for a single regulatory framework for AI, establishing a litigation task force to challenge state AI laws, namely those led by Democratic lawmakers.
An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment, but directed CNBC to a blog post from CEO Dario Amodei in October. Amodei wrote in the post that Anthropic had increased its revenue run rate from $1 billion to $7 billion in nine months, “and we’ve managed to do this while deploying AI thoughtfully and responsibly.”
David O. Sacks, chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, speaks to President Donald Trump next to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as Trump signs an executive order on AI in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Dec. 11, 2025. Al Drago | Reuters
Surman remains undeterred, and says Mozilla will be able to help “do for AI what we did for the web.”
“There is an alternative that’s real and is emerging, and it’s a lot of small pieces that add up to that alternative,” Surman said. “The people in it are hungry to look where there’s weak spots in the current market and take advantage of them.”
Mozilla has long viewed itself as a rebel.
In the 2024 “State of Mozilla” report, Surman used the phrase “rebel alliance” to describe the coalition of players that helped disrupt Microsoft’s dominance over the web. In 2020, Mozilla published a report titled “Mozilla & the Rebel Alliance,” which was dedicated to the organization’s alliance of “tens of thousands of people around the globe who believe in Mozilla.”
Even so, Surman said it took some time to convince his colleagues that the moniker applied to the AI era.
That process actually started long before generative AI took off. In 2019, Surman shifted the philanthropic and advocacy efforts of the Mozilla Foundation to focus on “trustworthy AI.”
By the spring of 2023, Mozilla had launched its venture firm and its own AI company, Mozilla.ai. The following year, Surman said Mozilla’s leadership agreed that keeping AI “trustworthy and open” was a fight worth picking.
While its biggest priority remains growing and investing in Firefox, investing in the rebel alliance is “at the heart of who Mozilla is today,” according to the report on Tuesday. Supporting startups is central to that strategy.
Mozilla Ventures has invested in more than 55 companies to date, including dozens of AI startups, with more deals to come in 2026.
Trail, a German startup that offers an AI governance solution for regulated enterprises, raised a pre-seed round in 2024, with participation from Mozilla.
Anna Spitznagel, who co-founded the company the prior year, said Trail and Mozilla are exploring ways to collaborate more closely, like by building an open-source framework. Mozilla has supported open-source technology since its origin in 1998.
But Spitznagel isn’t completely sold on Surman’s rebel alliance concept. She said it’s a “fun analogy” and wants to be aligned with the movement to enable trustworthy AI, but also wants in on the broader AI transformation.
“Rebel is a word that for me, personally, it has the wrong association,” Spitznagel said in an interview. “I do think about [AI] a bit differently, but I also want to be part of the revolution that actually enables us to deploy AI and not hinder it.”
Tony Salomone and Ali Asaria, co-founders of Mozilla portfolio company Transformer Lab, said they’re similarly on the fence.
“I’m not going to lie, I sometimes talk that way to get people kind of excited or engaged in our way of thinking,” Salomone said.
Founded in 2024, Transformer Lab is building open-source tools that developers can use to build, train and evaluate advanced AI models. The company has yet to publicly disclose any funding and, as of November, had fewer than 10 employees, mostly based in Canada.
Asaria said rebel alliance isn’t a term he’s used, but that there is an ecosystem of smaller AI companies that keep in touch and regularly cross paths at conferences and other events.
“There’s definitely a group of folks who are interested in this idea of trying to be sustainable companies that can have an impact on the industry and have an appreciation for AI, but don’t want to see just a few big companies win,” Asaria said.
‘Taking a lot of shortcuts’
When it comes to the big companies in AI, Surman cautioned that a “winner-takes-all” mentality still lurks behind their open-source efforts. He said their contributions to open-source communities are welcome, but that those same companies will “eat you if you’re not careful.”
It’s an issue that resonates with Oumi CEO Manos Koukoumidis. Backed by Mozilla, Oumi operates an open-source platform that researchers and engineers can use to train, fine-tune, evaluate and deploy AI models. Koukoumidis previously spent around a decade working in AI at Microsoft, Facebook and most recently Google, where he became disillusioned with the future he was building.
While all the big tech companies contribute to a variety of open-source projects, some of which they manage, Koukoumidis said the bigger objective at the “tech mammoths” is dominance. In terms of safety, he is “very confident that they’re taking a lot of shortcuts.”
Koukoumidis and Surman agree that a much larger community of researchers and entrepreneurs should be collaborating to advance AI, which is one of the goals of Oumi.
“Even the couple thousand people that are at OpenAI, Anthropic or anywhere else, because they’re operating in a silo, they’re not enough to advance this technology sufficiently, safely, cost efficiently, sustainably,” Koukoumidis said in an interview. “What’s happening right now, it’s complete insanity. We’re wasting billions, tens of billions, hundreds of billions.”
JOSEP LAGO | AFP | Getty Images
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Mozilla building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on OpenAI, Anthropic
#AI #Anthropic #Apple #BillionReserves #Browsers #Canada #CNBC #Firefox #Google #MarkSurman #OpenAI #RebelAlliance #SanFrancisco #Toronto
#ai #anthropic #apple #billionreserves #browsers #canada
DrWeb @[email protected] · 2026-01-28 · 17:24 UTC
Mozilla building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on OpenAI, Anthropic – CNBC
Mark Surman, president of Mozilla Foundation, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024. Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Tech
Mozilla is building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on industry heavyweights OpenAI, Anthropic
Published Tue, Jan 27 202612:00 PM EST, Updated Tue, Jan 27 20265:53 PM EST
By Ashley Capoot @/in/ashley-capoot/
Key Points
- Mozilla is focused on deploying its roughly $1.4 billion worth of reserves to support “mission driven” organizations, according to a new report.
- The nonprofit, also the parent of Firefox, is investing in artificial intelligence startups that are working on safety and governance issues in AI.
- It’s an uphill climb as Mozilla is going up against massive players like OpenAI and Anthropic as well as the Trump administration, which has loudly criticized what it calls “woke AI.”
Mark Surman, president of Mozilla Foundation, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024. Andrew Kelly | Reuters
From his small, snow-covered farm outside Toronto, home to cats and a dog, and soon some donkeys, Mark Surman has been laying the groundwork for a fierce battle with the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, located about 2,300 miles away in the San Francisco area.
The bespectacled 56-year-old is president of Mozilla, a nonprofit organization best known for its Firefox browser and a pledge to keep the internet open and accessible to all. Having taken on Microsoft in the browser market in the early 2000s, and Apple and Google in the years that followed, Mozilla is right at home playing the role of underdog.
These days, Surman is preoccupied with the tech industry’s influence over the next big thing: AI. And it’s too big of a challenge for Mozilla to tackle on its own.
Surman is building what he’s described as “a rebel alliance of sorts,” using a phrase that’s long been part of Mozilla’s lexicon. In this case, the alliance is a loose network of tech startups, developers and public interest technologists committed to making AI more open and trustworthy and to checking the power of industry heavyweights like OpenAI and Anthropic.
“It’s that spirit that a bunch of people are banding together to create something good in the world and take on this thing that threatens us,” Surman told CNBC in an interview. “It’s super corny, but people totally get it.”
In practice, Mozilla is focused on deploying its roughly $1.4 billion worth of reserves to support “mission driven” tech businesses and nonprofits, including its own, according to a report the organization released Tuesday. It’s pursuing investments that promote AI transparency, and can potentially act as a counterforce to companies that are growing at historic rates with limited guardrails.
Financially, Mozilla is at a massive disadvantage. In 2022, it launched a venture capital fund called Mozilla Ventures and pledged to invest an initial $35 million in early-stage companies. It’s now exploring raising additional funds.
Mozilla’s cash pile is dwarfed by OpenAI, which has raised more than $60 billion from investors across the globe, and its rival Anthropic, which has raised more than $30 billion, according to PitchBook. Tech megacaps like Google and Meta are also sparing no expense, shelling out billions of dollars to hire AI researchers and tens of billions a year to build out massive data centers.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo, Feb. 3, 2025.
Kim Kyung-hoon | Reuters
Mozilla represents a growing swath of the AI industry that’s afraid of what OpenAI has become and the power that it now wields.
When OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit AI lab in 2015, its stated goal was to “advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return.”
But in the decade that followed, OpenAI turned into a commercial entity with astronomical growth rates, transformed largely by the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.
OpenAI now sports a $500 billion valuation, and completed a recapitalization in October that cemented its future as a for-profit business under the umbrella of a nonprofit. It’s a structure that resembles Mozilla, but the similarities end there.
Only a few of OpenAI’s co-founders, including CEO Sam Altman, remain at the company, and a number of early employees who left have been sharply critical of what they broadly describe as a focus on growth at the expense of safety.
Among the loudest critics is co-founder Elon Musk, who departed in 2018, started a competitor called xAI in 2023, and then sued OpenAI and Altman for alleged breach of contract and financial damages. OpenAI has dismissed Musk’s efforts as part of a “campaign of harassment,” and the case is expected to head to trial in April.
OpenAI didn’t provide a comment, and xAI returned CNBC’s request for comment with an automated response.
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by a group of former OpenAI executives and researchers who disagreed with the company’s direction. But, even as it’s taken a more pro-safety stance in AI development, Anthropic has been racing alongside AI commercially, commanding a $350 billion valuation.
Multiple battles at once
Mozilla’s uphill battle is even steeper because of the position of the Trump administration, which is determined to stay ahead of China in the global AI race and has been quick to lash out at companies, states and lawmakers that are perceived as potential threats to that agenda.
David Sacks, the venture capitalist serving as the administration’s AI and crypto czar, accused Anthropic of supporting “woke AI” in October due to its approach on regulation. President Donald Trump in December signed an executive order for a single regulatory framework for AI, establishing a litigation task force to challenge state AI laws, namely those led by Democratic lawmakers.
An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment, but directed CNBC to a blog post from CEO Dario Amodei in October. Amodei wrote in the post that Anthropic had increased its revenue run rate from $1 billion to $7 billion in nine months, “and we’ve managed to do this while deploying AI thoughtfully and responsibly.”
David O. Sacks, chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, speaks to President Donald Trump next to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as Trump signs an executive order on AI in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Dec. 11, 2025. Al Drago | Reuters
Surman remains undeterred, and says Mozilla will be able to help “do for AI what we did for the web.”
“There is an alternative that’s real and is emerging, and it’s a lot of small pieces that add up to that alternative,” Surman said. “The people in it are hungry to look where there’s weak spots in the current market and take advantage of them.”
Mozilla has long viewed itself as a rebel.
In the 2024 “State of Mozilla” report, Surman used the phrase “rebel alliance” to describe the coalition of players that helped disrupt Microsoft’s dominance over the web. In 2020, Mozilla published a report titled “Mozilla & the Rebel Alliance,” which was dedicated to the organization’s alliance of “tens of thousands of people around the globe who believe in Mozilla.”
Even so, Surman said it took some time to convince his colleagues that the moniker applied to the AI era.
That process actually started long before generative AI took off. In 2019, Surman shifted the philanthropic and advocacy efforts of the Mozilla Foundation to focus on “trustworthy AI.”
By the spring of 2023, Mozilla had launched its venture firm and its own AI company, Mozilla.ai. The following year, Surman said Mozilla’s leadership agreed that keeping AI “trustworthy and open” was a fight worth picking.
While its biggest priority remains growing and investing in Firefox, investing in the rebel alliance is “at the heart of who Mozilla is today,” according to the report on Tuesday. Supporting startups is central to that strategy.
Mozilla Ventures has invested in more than 55 companies to date, including dozens of AI startups, with more deals to come in 2026.
Trail, a German startup that offers an AI governance solution for regulated enterprises, raised a pre-seed round in 2024, with participation from Mozilla.
Anna Spitznagel, who co-founded the company the prior year, said Trail and Mozilla are exploring ways to collaborate more closely, like by building an open-source framework. Mozilla has supported open-source technology since its origin in 1998.
But Spitznagel isn’t completely sold on Surman’s rebel alliance concept. She said it’s a “fun analogy” and wants to be aligned with the movement to enable trustworthy AI, but also wants in on the broader AI transformation.
“Rebel is a word that for me, personally, it has the wrong association,” Spitznagel said in an interview. “I do think about [AI] a bit differently, but I also want to be part of the revolution that actually enables us to deploy AI and not hinder it.”
Tony Salomone and Ali Asaria, co-founders of Mozilla portfolio company Transformer Lab, said they’re similarly on the fence.
“I’m not going to lie, I sometimes talk that way to get people kind of excited or engaged in our way of thinking,” Salomone said.
Founded in 2024, Transformer Lab is building open-source tools that developers can use to build, train and evaluate advanced AI models. The company has yet to publicly disclose any funding and, as of November, had fewer than 10 employees, mostly based in Canada.
Asaria said rebel alliance isn’t a term he’s used, but that there is an ecosystem of smaller AI companies that keep in touch and regularly cross paths at conferences and other events.
“There’s definitely a group of folks who are interested in this idea of trying to be sustainable companies that can have an impact on the industry and have an appreciation for AI, but don’t want to see just a few big companies win,” Asaria said.
‘Taking a lot of shortcuts’
When it comes to the big companies in AI, Surman cautioned that a “winner-takes-all” mentality still lurks behind their open-source efforts. He said their contributions to open-source communities are welcome, but that those same companies will “eat you if you’re not careful.”
It’s an issue that resonates with Oumi CEO Manos Koukoumidis. Backed by Mozilla, Oumi operates an open-source platform that researchers and engineers can use to train, fine-tune, evaluate and deploy AI models. Koukoumidis previously spent around a decade working in AI at Microsoft, Facebook and most recently Google, where he became disillusioned with the future he was building.
While all the big tech companies contribute to a variety of open-source projects, some of which they manage, Koukoumidis said the bigger objective at the “tech mammoths” is dominance. In terms of safety, he is “very confident that they’re taking a lot of shortcuts.”
Koukoumidis and Surman agree that a much larger community of researchers and entrepreneurs should be collaborating to advance AI, which is one of the goals of Oumi.
“Even the couple thousand people that are at OpenAI, Anthropic or anywhere else, because they’re operating in a silo, they’re not enough to advance this technology sufficiently, safely, cost efficiently, sustainably,” Koukoumidis said in an interview. “What’s happening right now, it’s complete insanity. We’re wasting billions, tens of billions, hundreds of billions.”
JOSEP LAGO | AFP | Getty Images
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Mozilla building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on OpenAI, Anthropic
Tags: AI, Anthropic, Apple, Billion Reserves, Browsers, Canada, CNBC, Firefox, Google, Mark Surman, OpenAI, Rebel Alliance, San Francisco, Toronto
#AI #Anthropic #Apple #BillionReserves #Browsers #Canada #CNBC #Firefox #Google #MarkSurman #OpenAI #RebelAlliance #SanFrancisco #Toronto
#ai #anthropic #apple #billionreserves #browsers #canada
DrWeb @[email protected] · 2026-01-28 · 17:24 UTC
Mozilla building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on OpenAI, Anthropic – CNBC
Mark Surman, president of Mozilla Foundation, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024. Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Tech
Mozilla is building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on industry heavyweights OpenAI, Anthropic
Published Tue, Jan 27 202612:00 PM EST, Updated Tue, Jan 27 20265:53 PM EST
By Ashley Capoot @/in/ashley-capoot/
Key Points
- Mozilla is focused on deploying its roughly $1.4 billion worth of reserves to support “mission driven” organizations, according to a new report.
- The nonprofit, also the parent of Firefox, is investing in artificial intelligence startups that are working on safety and governance issues in AI.
- It’s an uphill climb as Mozilla is going up against massive players like OpenAI and Anthropic as well as the Trump administration, which has loudly criticized what it calls “woke AI.”
Mark Surman, president of Mozilla Foundation, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024. Andrew Kelly | Reuters
From his small, snow-covered farm outside Toronto, home to cats and a dog, and soon some donkeys, Mark Surman has been laying the groundwork for a fierce battle with the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, located about 2,300 miles away in the San Francisco area.
The bespectacled 56-year-old is president of Mozilla, a nonprofit organization best known for its Firefox browser and a pledge to keep the internet open and accessible to all. Having taken on Microsoft in the browser market in the early 2000s, and Apple and Google in the years that followed, Mozilla is right at home playing the role of underdog.
These days, Surman is preoccupied with the tech industry’s influence over the next big thing: AI. And it’s too big of a challenge for Mozilla to tackle on its own.
Surman is building what he’s described as “a rebel alliance of sorts,” using a phrase that’s long been part of Mozilla’s lexicon. In this case, the alliance is a loose network of tech startups, developers and public interest technologists committed to making AI more open and trustworthy and to checking the power of industry heavyweights like OpenAI and Anthropic.
“It’s that spirit that a bunch of people are banding together to create something good in the world and take on this thing that threatens us,” Surman told CNBC in an interview. “It’s super corny, but people totally get it.”
In practice, Mozilla is focused on deploying its roughly $1.4 billion worth of reserves to support “mission driven” tech businesses and nonprofits, including its own, according to a report the organization released Tuesday. It’s pursuing investments that promote AI transparency, and can potentially act as a counterforce to companies that are growing at historic rates with limited guardrails.
Financially, Mozilla is at a massive disadvantage. In 2022, it launched a venture capital fund called Mozilla Ventures and pledged to invest an initial $35 million in early-stage companies. It’s now exploring raising additional funds.
Mozilla’s cash pile is dwarfed by OpenAI, which has raised more than $60 billion from investors across the globe, and its rival Anthropic, which has raised more than $30 billion, according to PitchBook. Tech megacaps like Google and Meta are also sparing no expense, shelling out billions of dollars to hire AI researchers and tens of billions a year to build out massive data centers.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo, Feb. 3, 2025.
Kim Kyung-hoon | Reuters
Mozilla represents a growing swath of the AI industry that’s afraid of what OpenAI has become and the power that it now wields.
When OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit AI lab in 2015, its stated goal was to “advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return.”
But in the decade that followed, OpenAI turned into a commercial entity with astronomical growth rates, transformed largely by the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.
OpenAI now sports a $500 billion valuation, and completed a recapitalization in October that cemented its future as a for-profit business under the umbrella of a nonprofit. It’s a structure that resembles Mozilla, but the similarities end there.
Only a few of OpenAI’s co-founders, including CEO Sam Altman, remain at the company, and a number of early employees who left have been sharply critical of what they broadly describe as a focus on growth at the expense of safety.
Among the loudest critics is co-founder Elon Musk, who departed in 2018, started a competitor called xAI in 2023, and then sued OpenAI and Altman for alleged breach of contract and financial damages. OpenAI has dismissed Musk’s efforts as part of a “campaign of harassment,” and the case is expected to head to trial in April.
OpenAI didn’t provide a comment, and xAI returned CNBC’s request for comment with an automated response.
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by a group of former OpenAI executives and researchers who disagreed with the company’s direction. But, even as it’s taken a more pro-safety stance in AI development, Anthropic has been racing alongside AI commercially, commanding a $350 billion valuation.
Multiple battles at once
Mozilla’s uphill battle is even steeper because of the position of the Trump administration, which is determined to stay ahead of China in the global AI race and has been quick to lash out at companies, states and lawmakers that are perceived as potential threats to that agenda.
David Sacks, the venture capitalist serving as the administration’s AI and crypto czar, accused Anthropic of supporting “woke AI” in October due to its approach on regulation. President Donald Trump in December signed an executive order for a single regulatory framework for AI, establishing a litigation task force to challenge state AI laws, namely those led by Democratic lawmakers.
An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment, but directed CNBC to a blog post from CEO Dario Amodei in October. Amodei wrote in the post that Anthropic had increased its revenue run rate from $1 billion to $7 billion in nine months, “and we’ve managed to do this while deploying AI thoughtfully and responsibly.”
David O. Sacks, chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, speaks to President Donald Trump next to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as Trump signs an executive order on AI in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Dec. 11, 2025. Al Drago | Reuters
Surman remains undeterred, and says Mozilla will be able to help “do for AI what we did for the web.”
“There is an alternative that’s real and is emerging, and it’s a lot of small pieces that add up to that alternative,” Surman said. “The people in it are hungry to look where there’s weak spots in the current market and take advantage of them.”
Mozilla has long viewed itself as a rebel.
In the 2024 “State of Mozilla” report, Surman used the phrase “rebel alliance” to describe the coalition of players that helped disrupt Microsoft’s dominance over the web. In 2020, Mozilla published a report titled “Mozilla & the Rebel Alliance,” which was dedicated to the organization’s alliance of “tens of thousands of people around the globe who believe in Mozilla.”
Even so, Surman said it took some time to convince his colleagues that the moniker applied to the AI era.
That process actually started long before generative AI took off. In 2019, Surman shifted the philanthropic and advocacy efforts of the Mozilla Foundation to focus on “trustworthy AI.”
By the spring of 2023, Mozilla had launched its venture firm and its own AI company, Mozilla.ai. The following year, Surman said Mozilla’s leadership agreed that keeping AI “trustworthy and open” was a fight worth picking.
While its biggest priority remains growing and investing in Firefox, investing in the rebel alliance is “at the heart of who Mozilla is today,” according to the report on Tuesday. Supporting startups is central to that strategy.
Mozilla Ventures has invested in more than 55 companies to date, including dozens of AI startups, with more deals to come in 2026.
Trail, a German startup that offers an AI governance solution for regulated enterprises, raised a pre-seed round in 2024, with participation from Mozilla.
Anna Spitznagel, who co-founded the company the prior year, said Trail and Mozilla are exploring ways to collaborate more closely, like by building an open-source framework. Mozilla has supported open-source technology since its origin in 1998.
But Spitznagel isn’t completely sold on Surman’s rebel alliance concept. She said it’s a “fun analogy” and wants to be aligned with the movement to enable trustworthy AI, but also wants in on the broader AI transformation.
“Rebel is a word that for me, personally, it has the wrong association,” Spitznagel said in an interview. “I do think about [AI] a bit differently, but I also want to be part of the revolution that actually enables us to deploy AI and not hinder it.”
Tony Salomone and Ali Asaria, co-founders of Mozilla portfolio company Transformer Lab, said they’re similarly on the fence.
“I’m not going to lie, I sometimes talk that way to get people kind of excited or engaged in our way of thinking,” Salomone said.
Founded in 2024, Transformer Lab is building open-source tools that developers can use to build, train and evaluate advanced AI models. The company has yet to publicly disclose any funding and, as of November, had fewer than 10 employees, mostly based in Canada.
Asaria said rebel alliance isn’t a term he’s used, but that there is an ecosystem of smaller AI companies that keep in touch and regularly cross paths at conferences and other events.
“There’s definitely a group of folks who are interested in this idea of trying to be sustainable companies that can have an impact on the industry and have an appreciation for AI, but don’t want to see just a few big companies win,” Asaria said.
‘Taking a lot of shortcuts’
When it comes to the big companies in AI, Surman cautioned that a “winner-takes-all” mentality still lurks behind their open-source efforts. He said their contributions to open-source communities are welcome, but that those same companies will “eat you if you’re not careful.”
It’s an issue that resonates with Oumi CEO Manos Koukoumidis. Backed by Mozilla, Oumi operates an open-source platform that researchers and engineers can use to train, fine-tune, evaluate and deploy AI models. Koukoumidis previously spent around a decade working in AI at Microsoft, Facebook and most recently Google, where he became disillusioned with the future he was building.
While all the big tech companies contribute to a variety of open-source projects, some of which they manage, Koukoumidis said the bigger objective at the “tech mammoths” is dominance. In terms of safety, he is “very confident that they’re taking a lot of shortcuts.”
Koukoumidis and Surman agree that a much larger community of researchers and entrepreneurs should be collaborating to advance AI, which is one of the goals of Oumi.
“Even the couple thousand people that are at OpenAI, Anthropic or anywhere else, because they’re operating in a silo, they’re not enough to advance this technology sufficiently, safely, cost efficiently, sustainably,” Koukoumidis said in an interview. “What’s happening right now, it’s complete insanity. We’re wasting billions, tens of billions, hundreds of billions.”
JOSEP LAGO | AFP | Getty Images
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Mozilla building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on OpenAI, Anthropic
#AI #Anthropic #Apple #BillionReserves #Browsers #Canada #CNBC #Firefox #Google #MarkSurman #OpenAI #RebelAlliance #SanFrancisco #Toronto
#toronto #sanfrancisco #rebelalliance #openai #marksurman #google
DrWeb @[email protected] · 2026-01-28 · 17:24 UTC
Mozilla building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on OpenAI, Anthropic – CNBC
Mark Surman, president of Mozilla Foundation, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024. Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Tech
Mozilla is building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on industry heavyweights OpenAI, Anthropic
Published Tue, Jan 27 202612:00 PM EST, Updated Tue, Jan 27 20265:53 PM EST
By Ashley Capoot @/in/ashley-capoot/
Key Points
- Mozilla is focused on deploying its roughly $1.4 billion worth of reserves to support “mission driven” organizations, according to a new report.
- The nonprofit, also the parent of Firefox, is investing in artificial intelligence startups that are working on safety and governance issues in AI.
- It’s an uphill climb as Mozilla is going up against massive players like OpenAI and Anthropic as well as the Trump administration, which has loudly criticized what it calls “woke AI.”
Mark Surman, president of Mozilla Foundation, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024. Andrew Kelly | Reuters
From his small, snow-covered farm outside Toronto, home to cats and a dog, and soon some donkeys, Mark Surman has been laying the groundwork for a fierce battle with the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies, located about 2,300 miles away in the San Francisco area.
The bespectacled 56-year-old is president of Mozilla, a nonprofit organization best known for its Firefox browser and a pledge to keep the internet open and accessible to all. Having taken on Microsoft in the browser market in the early 2000s, and Apple and Google in the years that followed, Mozilla is right at home playing the role of underdog.
These days, Surman is preoccupied with the tech industry’s influence over the next big thing: AI. And it’s too big of a challenge for Mozilla to tackle on its own.
Surman is building what he’s described as “a rebel alliance of sorts,” using a phrase that’s long been part of Mozilla’s lexicon. In this case, the alliance is a loose network of tech startups, developers and public interest technologists committed to making AI more open and trustworthy and to checking the power of industry heavyweights like OpenAI and Anthropic.
“It’s that spirit that a bunch of people are banding together to create something good in the world and take on this thing that threatens us,” Surman told CNBC in an interview. “It’s super corny, but people totally get it.”
In practice, Mozilla is focused on deploying its roughly $1.4 billion worth of reserves to support “mission driven” tech businesses and nonprofits, including its own, according to a report the organization released Tuesday. It’s pursuing investments that promote AI transparency, and can potentially act as a counterforce to companies that are growing at historic rates with limited guardrails.
Financially, Mozilla is at a massive disadvantage. In 2022, it launched a venture capital fund called Mozilla Ventures and pledged to invest an initial $35 million in early-stage companies. It’s now exploring raising additional funds.
Mozilla’s cash pile is dwarfed by OpenAI, which has raised more than $60 billion from investors across the globe, and its rival Anthropic, which has raised more than $30 billion, according to PitchBook. Tech megacaps like Google and Meta are also sparing no expense, shelling out billions of dollars to hire AI researchers and tens of billions a year to build out massive data centers.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo, Feb. 3, 2025.
Kim Kyung-hoon | Reuters
Mozilla represents a growing swath of the AI industry that’s afraid of what OpenAI has become and the power that it now wields.
When OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit AI lab in 2015, its stated goal was to “advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return.”
But in the decade that followed, OpenAI turned into a commercial entity with astronomical growth rates, transformed largely by the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.
OpenAI now sports a $500 billion valuation, and completed a recapitalization in October that cemented its future as a for-profit business under the umbrella of a nonprofit. It’s a structure that resembles Mozilla, but the similarities end there.
Only a few of OpenAI’s co-founders, including CEO Sam Altman, remain at the company, and a number of early employees who left have been sharply critical of what they broadly describe as a focus on growth at the expense of safety.
Among the loudest critics is co-founder Elon Musk, who departed in 2018, started a competitor called xAI in 2023, and then sued OpenAI and Altman for alleged breach of contract and financial damages. OpenAI has dismissed Musk’s efforts as part of a “campaign of harassment,” and the case is expected to head to trial in April.
OpenAI didn’t provide a comment, and xAI returned CNBC’s request for comment with an automated response.
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by a group of former OpenAI executives and researchers who disagreed with the company’s direction. But, even as it’s taken a more pro-safety stance in AI development, Anthropic has been racing alongside AI commercially, commanding a $350 billion valuation.
Multiple battles at once
Mozilla’s uphill battle is even steeper because of the position of the Trump administration, which is determined to stay ahead of China in the global AI race and has been quick to lash out at companies, states and lawmakers that are perceived as potential threats to that agenda.
David Sacks, the venture capitalist serving as the administration’s AI and crypto czar, accused Anthropic of supporting “woke AI” in October due to its approach on regulation. President Donald Trump in December signed an executive order for a single regulatory framework for AI, establishing a litigation task force to challenge state AI laws, namely those led by Democratic lawmakers.
An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment, but directed CNBC to a blog post from CEO Dario Amodei in October. Amodei wrote in the post that Anthropic had increased its revenue run rate from $1 billion to $7 billion in nine months, “and we’ve managed to do this while deploying AI thoughtfully and responsibly.”
David O. Sacks, chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, speaks to President Donald Trump next to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as Trump signs an executive order on AI in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Dec. 11, 2025. Al Drago | Reuters
Surman remains undeterred, and says Mozilla will be able to help “do for AI what we did for the web.”
“There is an alternative that’s real and is emerging, and it’s a lot of small pieces that add up to that alternative,” Surman said. “The people in it are hungry to look where there’s weak spots in the current market and take advantage of them.”
Mozilla has long viewed itself as a rebel.
In the 2024 “State of Mozilla” report, Surman used the phrase “rebel alliance” to describe the coalition of players that helped disrupt Microsoft’s dominance over the web. In 2020, Mozilla published a report titled “Mozilla & the Rebel Alliance,” which was dedicated to the organization’s alliance of “tens of thousands of people around the globe who believe in Mozilla.”
Even so, Surman said it took some time to convince his colleagues that the moniker applied to the AI era.
That process actually started long before generative AI took off. In 2019, Surman shifted the philanthropic and advocacy efforts of the Mozilla Foundation to focus on “trustworthy AI.”
By the spring of 2023, Mozilla had launched its venture firm and its own AI company, Mozilla.ai. The following year, Surman said Mozilla’s leadership agreed that keeping AI “trustworthy and open” was a fight worth picking.
While its biggest priority remains growing and investing in Firefox, investing in the rebel alliance is “at the heart of who Mozilla is today,” according to the report on Tuesday. Supporting startups is central to that strategy.
Mozilla Ventures has invested in more than 55 companies to date, including dozens of AI startups, with more deals to come in 2026.
Trail, a German startup that offers an AI governance solution for regulated enterprises, raised a pre-seed round in 2024, with participation from Mozilla.
Anna Spitznagel, who co-founded the company the prior year, said Trail and Mozilla are exploring ways to collaborate more closely, like by building an open-source framework. Mozilla has supported open-source technology since its origin in 1998.
But Spitznagel isn’t completely sold on Surman’s rebel alliance concept. She said it’s a “fun analogy” and wants to be aligned with the movement to enable trustworthy AI, but also wants in on the broader AI transformation.
“Rebel is a word that for me, personally, it has the wrong association,” Spitznagel said in an interview. “I do think about [AI] a bit differently, but I also want to be part of the revolution that actually enables us to deploy AI and not hinder it.”
Tony Salomone and Ali Asaria, co-founders of Mozilla portfolio company Transformer Lab, said they’re similarly on the fence.
“I’m not going to lie, I sometimes talk that way to get people kind of excited or engaged in our way of thinking,” Salomone said.
Founded in 2024, Transformer Lab is building open-source tools that developers can use to build, train and evaluate advanced AI models. The company has yet to publicly disclose any funding and, as of November, had fewer than 10 employees, mostly based in Canada.
Asaria said rebel alliance isn’t a term he’s used, but that there is an ecosystem of smaller AI companies that keep in touch and regularly cross paths at conferences and other events.
“There’s definitely a group of folks who are interested in this idea of trying to be sustainable companies that can have an impact on the industry and have an appreciation for AI, but don’t want to see just a few big companies win,” Asaria said.
‘Taking a lot of shortcuts’
When it comes to the big companies in AI, Surman cautioned that a “winner-takes-all” mentality still lurks behind their open-source efforts. He said their contributions to open-source communities are welcome, but that those same companies will “eat you if you’re not careful.”
It’s an issue that resonates with Oumi CEO Manos Koukoumidis. Backed by Mozilla, Oumi operates an open-source platform that researchers and engineers can use to train, fine-tune, evaluate and deploy AI models. Koukoumidis previously spent around a decade working in AI at Microsoft, Facebook and most recently Google, where he became disillusioned with the future he was building.
While all the big tech companies contribute to a variety of open-source projects, some of which they manage, Koukoumidis said the bigger objective at the “tech mammoths” is dominance. In terms of safety, he is “very confident that they’re taking a lot of shortcuts.”
Koukoumidis and Surman agree that a much larger community of researchers and entrepreneurs should be collaborating to advance AI, which is one of the goals of Oumi.
“Even the couple thousand people that are at OpenAI, Anthropic or anywhere else, because they’re operating in a silo, they’re not enough to advance this technology sufficiently, safely, cost efficiently, sustainably,” Koukoumidis said in an interview. “What’s happening right now, it’s complete insanity. We’re wasting billions, tens of billions, hundreds of billions.”
JOSEP LAGO | AFP | Getty Images
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Mozilla building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on OpenAI, Anthropic
#AI #Anthropic #Apple #BillionReserves #Browsers #Canada #CNBC #Firefox #Google #MarkSurman #OpenAI #RebelAlliance #SanFrancisco #Toronto
#ai #anthropic #apple #billionreserves #browsers #canada
Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] · 2024-08-18 · 12:07 UTC
August 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay
Although #WorldOrangutanDay falls on the 19th of August, every day deserves to be World Orangutan Day! So here is an infographic that you can download, print and share however you please. All three species of orangutan are classified as ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’ in S.E. Asia. Their main threat is palm oil deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia Help them and fight for their survival every time you shop! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife

Aug 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay 🦧🧡 Yet for everyone who loves them, every single day is World #Orangutan Day! Learn why “Sustainable” #palmoil is a #greenwashing lie 🌴🚫. Help orange apes every time you #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter
Happy #WorldOrangutanDay, download your #FREE #infographic in the link 🧐👇 You’ve been sold a lie! #Orangutans face extinction from “sustainable” #palmoil, which DOES NOT STOP #DEFORESTATION 🔥🌴🚫 #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife! @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter
https://youtu.be/I_wNyk3KsVg
- Orangutans are known as “gardeners” of the forest, as they are critical for seed dispersal in ecosystems.
- The slow reproductive rate of orangutans makes populations extremely vulnerable.
- Female orangutans give birth only once every 3-5 years.
- Orangutans are highly intelligent, they use tools including using boats and they pass these skills onto their children whom they raise for up to 10 years.
Help to protect them!
#Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
This infographic is creative commons attribution licence, this means you are free to use it so long as you credit Palm Oil Detectives.
See HTML interactive version Download still infographic Download PDF
Infographic Sources
Animalia: Bornean Orangutan https://animalia.bio/bornean-orangutan
Animalia: Sumatran Orangutan https://animalia.bio/sumatran-orangutan
Animalia: Tapanuli Orangutan https://animalia.bio/tapanuli-orangutan
Global Palm Oil Market (2022 to 2027) – Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecasts (2022). https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/17/2444825/28124/en/Global-Palm-Oil-Market-2022-to-2027-Industry-Trends-Share-Size-Growth-Opportunity-and-Forecasts.html
The Asian Forest Fires of 1997-1998, Mongabay. https://rainforests.mongabay.com/08indo_fires.htm
TIMELINE: Slaves, colonials, weevils: palm oil’s historic rise, Reuters (2019). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-forest-palm-timeline-sb-idUSTRE58M01I20090923
Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to RSPO members/supermarket brands, Palm Oil Detectives, (2021). https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/07/research-palm-oil-deforestation-and-its-connection-to-brands/
RSPO: History and timeline. https://rspo.org/about
Wildfires May Cause Long-Term Health Problems for Endangered Orangutans, Rutgers (2018). https://www.rutgers.edu/news/wildfires-may-cause-long-term-health-problems-endangered-orangutans

Orangutans: Architects of the Forest, Champions of Survival
Embracing International Orangutan Day: Guardians of the Canopy
On August 19th each year, orange ape enthusiasts celebrate cheeky and nurturing orangutans of Indonesia and Malaysia. With their flame-coloured fur and expressive eyes like deep obsidian pools, orangutans are not only symbols of wild intelligence, they are vital ecological architects dispersing seeds and contributing to the survival of their rainforest home.

Celebrations of World Orangutan Day are tempered with immense worry for animal lovers each year. All three species of orangutan are on the brink of extinction. The relentless expansion of industrial palm oil plantations, roads and infrastructure slices through the heart of the rainforest. Human encroachment puts these gentle giants closer to greedy and unscrupulous poachers and also farmers who kill them in retribution for invading their crops.
Read on to discover the indelible and unique scientific discoveries about orangutans over the past few years. Also take a look at this infographic to understand how palm oil colonialism and land-grabbing have manifested into a pressure cooker of risks for one of our closest evolutionary relatives. Finally learn how you can take action to help orangutans every time you shop.
Murmurs of Meaning: The Complex Language of Orangutans
Orangutans communicate in ways that continue to fascinate people. A recent study has unlocked new insights into their sophisticated communication methods, revealing how orangutans use vocalisations and gestures to convey emotions and information (Erb et al., 2024). The study, conducted by a team of researchers from several institutions, employed machine learning algorithms to analyse vocal recordings of orangutans in the wild.
Key Findings
- Diverse Vocalisations: Researchers identified over 200 distinct sounds used by orangutans, ranging from long-distance calls to subtle grunts and whistles. These vocalisations serve various purposes, including warnings of danger, expressions of joy, and coordination of group activities.
- Gesture Communication: In addition to vocal sounds, orangutans use a rich tapestry of gestures to communicate, such as arm waves and facial expressions. These gestures are often used in social interactions, highlighting their rich emotional intelligence and social complexity
Implications
Understanding these communication patterns not only provides a window into the cognitive abilities of orangutans but also underscores the need for conservation strategies that consider their social dynamics. Protecting their habitats allows orangutans to continue engaging in these complex social behaviours, essential for their survival and well-being.
Tool-Wielding Innovators: The Ingenious Minds of Orangutans
Recently, researchers were given insight into how orangutans showcase their remarkable intelligence through the use of tools. A study detailed the innovative ways these apes utilise objects in their environment, demonstrating a level of cognitive sophistication that rivals even our closest relatives, the chimpanzees (Motes-Rodrigo et al., 2022). This research, led by Alba Motes-Rodrigo and her team, observed wild orangutans across several regions in Sumatra.
Key Findings
- Tool Usage: The study documented instances where orangutans used sticks to extract insects from tree bark and employed leaves as makeshift umbrellas during tropical downpours. This behaviour reflects their problem-solving skills and adaptability to environmental challenges.
- Cultural Transmission: Researchers noted that tool use varied across different orangutan communities, suggesting that these skills are passed down through generations, much like cultural traditions in human societies.
Implications
These findings highlight the orangutans’ ability to innovate and adapt, underscoring the importance of preserving their habitats to allow for such natural behaviours. By understanding their tool use, conservationists can develop strategies that cater to their cognitive needs, ensuring that these intelligent beings continue to thrive in their natural environments.
Using Healing Jungle Herbs: Orangutans and Self-Medication
In an extraordinary display of natural wisdom, orangutans have been seen in the wild tending to their own painful wounds. A groundbreaking study revealed that orangutans in the wild use plants with medicinal properties to alleviate pain and discomfort (Laumer et al., 2024). This research, led by Isabelle B. Laumer and her colleagues at the University of Zurich, involved detailed observation and analysis of orangutan behaviour in their natural habitat.
Key Findings
Medicinal Plants: The study found that orangutans use various forest plants known to humans for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. They were observed chewing leaves and applying them to their skin to treat muscle and joint pain, showcasing a sophisticated understanding of the medicinal properties of their environment.
Behavioural Evidence: By closely monitoring orangutan behaviour, researchers documented over 20 instances of self-medication, providing compelling evidence of their ability to diagnose and treat their own health issues.
Implications
This remarkable discovery highlights the depth of orangutans’ ecological knowledge and underscores the importance of preserving their natural habitats. By protecting these environments, we not only safeguard the orangutans’ ability to care for themselves, but also maintain the biodiversity that supports such important medicinal plant life. Understanding this behaviour offers valuable insights into the evolution of self-care and the potential for discovering new medicinal compounds that could benefit human health as well.
Hilarious Hijinks: Great Apes and Playful Teasing
Recent research has shown that playful teasing isn’t limited to human babies. Scientists hypothesised that because language isn’t necessary for teasing, this behaviour might also exist in non-human animals. Indeed, cognitive biologists and primatologists have observed playful teasing in four great ape species. Like human humour, ape teasing involves provocation, persistence, and unexpected playful elements. The fact that all four great ape species exhibit this behaviour suggests that the origins of humour may have evolved in our shared ancestors at least 13 million years ago.
Key Findings
- Play Behaviour: Orangutans were observed engaging in various playful activities, including mock wrestling, swinging contests, and teasing games. These behaviours are crucial for social bonding and development, helping young orangutans learn social cues and build relationships.
- Emotional Intelligence: The study found that playfulness is linked to emotional intelligence, as orangutans display empathy and care in their interactions, often comforting one another during moments of distress.
Implications
Recognising the playful nature of orangutans highlights the importance of preserving their social groups and habitats. By understanding their social dynamics, conservationists can develop empathetic strategies that honour their complex social structures, ensuring the continued survival of these remarkable beings in the wild.
Family Bonds: The Deep Connections in Orangutan Communities
Orangutans, just like us spend many years nursing and nurturing their young before they are ready to fly solo. So it’s therefore no surprise that the bond between orangutan mothers and her baby is so profoundly powerful. A recent study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology observed orangutan families across various habitats in Borneo and revealed the intricacies of their connections.
Key Findings
- Long-Term Parenting: Orangutan mothers were found to invest up to eight years in raising their young, teaching them essential survival skills and knowledge about their environment. This extended parenting period is crucial for the development of independence and competence in young orangutans.
- Social Learning: The study also revealed that young orangutans learn from their mothers through observation and imitation, acquiring skills such as foraging, nest building, and navigation of the forest canopy.
Implications
Understanding the family bonds and social learning in orangutan communities highlights the urgent need to protect their habitats, ensuring that these family structures remain intact. By safeguarding their environments, we preserve the social dynamics that are critical to their well-being and survival, allowing future generations of orangutans to flourish.
Unmasking the Greenwash: The Truth Behind ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil
The palm oil industry frequently markets itself as “sustainable,” yet reports by industry watchdogs like the World Health Organisation, Greenpeace, Environmental Investigation Agency and researchers reveals that the RSPO is nothing more than an industry sponsored greenwashing body.
Key Findings
- Deforestation: The study highlights how palm oil plantations contribute significantly to deforestation in regions such as Indonesia and Malaysia, leading to the loss of critical orangutan habitats. Despite certifications like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), these practices persist, often bypassing genuine sustainability criteria.
- Impact on Indigenous Communities: In addition to environmental destruction, the expansion of palm oil plantations displaces indigenous communities, disrupting traditional ways of life and contributing to social unrest.
Implications
Exposing the greenwashing tactics of the palm oil industry is crucial for advocating genuine conservation solutions that prioritise orangutans and their ecosystems. By holding the industry accountable, we can work towards strategies that genuinely reflect the needs of these remarkable creatures and the environments they inhabit.
Take Action: Stand with Orangutans and Protect Their Future
Boycott Palm Oil and Meat Products
One of the most effective ways to support orangutans and their lush forest eden is to boycott products containing palm oil and meat. By choosing plant-based and palm oil free alternatives, you can help reduce the demand for these industries, contributing to the preservation of rainforests and protection of rare endangered animals. Learn which brands to boycott and brands to buy on the Palm Oil Detectives website.
Support Indigenous Rights
Empowering indigenous communities for self-determination is critical to protect ecosystems and animals. Organisations like WAHLI and World Rainforest Movement support indigenous rights and grassroots collective action against palm oil and timber corruption.
Raise Awareness on Social Media
Join the #Boycott4Wildlife movement on social media by sharing posts and information about the plight of orangutans. Use hashtags like #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife to spread awareness and encourage others to take action.
Be a Supermarket Sleuth
The next time you’re shopping, take a closer look at product labels to identify those containing palm oil. Share your a photo of what you discover on social media and call out brands engaging in greenwashing, using the #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife hashtags.
Conclusion
On International Orangutan Day, we celebrate the remarkable lives of orangutans and commit to protecting their future. By understanding their unique characteristics, exposing the myths of the palm oil industry, and taking action to preserve their habitats, we can ensure a brighter future for these magnificent creatures and the ecosystems they inhabit.

References
- Alba Motes-Rodrigo, Shannon P. McPherron, Will Archer, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Claudio Tennie. Experimental investigation of orangutans’ lithic percussive and sharp stone tool behaviours. PLOS ONE, 2022; 17 (2): e0263343 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Erb, W. M., Ross, W., Kazanecki, H., Setia, T. M., Madhusudhana, S., & Clink, D. J. (2024). Vocal complexity in the long calls of Bornean orangutans. PeerJ, 12, Article e17320. https://peerj.com/articles/17320
- Isabelle B. Laumer, Arif Rahman, Tri Rahmaeti, Ulil Azhari, Hermansyah, Sri Suci Utami Atmoko, Caroline Schuppli. Active self-treatment of a facial wound with a biologically active plant by a male Sumatran orangutan. Scientific Reports, 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58988-7
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Laumer I.B., Winkler S, Rossano F, Cartmill EA. Spontaneous playful teasing in four great ape species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2024 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2345
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2024). Great news: Apes have a sense of humour. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2024/03/17/great-news-apes-have-a-sense-of-humour-and-they-enjoy-teasing-each-other/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2022). Roundtable on sustainable palm oil: 19 years is enough. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/12/17/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-19-years-is-enough/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2023). Certification and ecolabels: Dubious sustainability. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/06/18/certification-ecolabels-dubious-sustainability-30-years-of-deceit-and-violence/
- University of Michigan. (2023). Palm oil deforestation in Guatemala. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/07/26/palm-oil-deforestation-in-guatemala-certifying-products-as-sustainable-is-no-panacea-university-of-michigan/
Here are some other ways you can help by using your wallet as a weapon and joining the #Boycott4Wildlife

What is greenwashing?
Read more

Why join the #Boycott4Wildlife?
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
Read more

The Counterpunch: Consumer Solutions To Fight Extinction
Read more

Contribute to my Ko-Fi
Did you enjoy visiting this website?

Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-Fi
Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-Fi
#BorneanOrangutanPongoPygmaeus #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #corruption #deforestation #free #greenwashing #infographic #orangutan #orangutans #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #SeedDispersers #seeddispersal #SumatranOrangutanPongoAbelii #TapanuliOrangutanPongoTapanuliensis #WorldOrangutanDay
#borneanorangutanpongopygmaeus #boycott4wildlife #boycottpalmoil #corruption #deforestation #free
Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] · 2024-08-18 · 12:07 UTC
August 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay
Although #WorldOrangutanDay falls on the 19th of August, every day deserves to be World Orangutan Day! So here is an infographic that you can download, print and share however you please. All three species of orangutan are classified as ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’ in S.E. Asia. Their main threat is palm oil deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia Help them and fight for their survival every time you shop! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife

Aug 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay 🦧🧡 Yet for everyone who loves them, every single day is World #Orangutan Day! Learn why “Sustainable” #palmoil is a #greenwashing lie 🌴🚫. Help orange apes every time you #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter
Happy #WorldOrangutanDay, download your #FREE #infographic in the link 🧐👇 You’ve been sold a lie! #Orangutans face extinction from “sustainable” #palmoil, which DOES NOT STOP #DEFORESTATION 🔥🌴🚫 #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife! @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter
https://youtu.be/I_wNyk3KsVg
- Orangutans are known as “gardeners” of the forest, as they are critical for seed dispersal in ecosystems.
- The slow reproductive rate of orangutans makes populations extremely vulnerable.
- Female orangutans give birth only once every 3-5 years.
- Orangutans are highly intelligent, they use tools including using boats and they pass these skills onto their children whom they raise for up to 10 years.
Help to protect them!
#Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
This infographic is creative commons attribution licence, this means you are free to use it so long as you credit Palm Oil Detectives.
See HTML interactive version Download still infographic Download PDF
Infographic Sources
Animalia: Bornean Orangutan https://animalia.bio/bornean-orangutan
Animalia: Sumatran Orangutan https://animalia.bio/sumatran-orangutan
Animalia: Tapanuli Orangutan https://animalia.bio/tapanuli-orangutan
Global Palm Oil Market (2022 to 2027) – Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecasts (2022). https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/17/2444825/28124/en/Global-Palm-Oil-Market-2022-to-2027-Industry-Trends-Share-Size-Growth-Opportunity-and-Forecasts.html
The Asian Forest Fires of 1997-1998, Mongabay. https://rainforests.mongabay.com/08indo_fires.htm
TIMELINE: Slaves, colonials, weevils: palm oil’s historic rise, Reuters (2019). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-forest-palm-timeline-sb-idUSTRE58M01I20090923
Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to RSPO members/supermarket brands, Palm Oil Detectives, (2021). https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/07/research-palm-oil-deforestation-and-its-connection-to-brands/
RSPO: History and timeline. https://rspo.org/about
Wildfires May Cause Long-Term Health Problems for Endangered Orangutans, Rutgers (2018). https://www.rutgers.edu/news/wildfires-may-cause-long-term-health-problems-endangered-orangutans

Orangutans: Architects of the Forest, Champions of Survival
Embracing International Orangutan Day: Guardians of the Canopy
On August 19th each year, orange ape enthusiasts celebrate cheeky and nurturing orangutans of Indonesia and Malaysia. With their flame-coloured fur and expressive eyes like deep obsidian pools, orangutans are not only symbols of wild intelligence, they are vital ecological architects dispersing seeds and contributing to the survival of their rainforest home.

Celebrations of World Orangutan Day are tempered with immense worry for animal lovers each year. All three species of orangutan are on the brink of extinction. The relentless expansion of industrial palm oil plantations, roads and infrastructure slices through the heart of the rainforest. Human encroachment puts these gentle giants closer to greedy and unscrupulous poachers and also farmers who kill them in retribution for invading their crops.
Read on to discover the indelible and unique scientific discoveries about orangutans over the past few years. Also take a look at this infographic to understand how palm oil colonialism and land-grabbing have manifested into a pressure cooker of risks for one of our closest evolutionary relatives. Finally learn how you can take action to help orangutans every time you shop.
Murmurs of Meaning: The Complex Language of Orangutans
Orangutans communicate in ways that continue to fascinate people. A recent study has unlocked new insights into their sophisticated communication methods, revealing how orangutans use vocalisations and gestures to convey emotions and information (Erb et al., 2024). The study, conducted by a team of researchers from several institutions, employed machine learning algorithms to analyse vocal recordings of orangutans in the wild.
Key Findings
- Diverse Vocalisations: Researchers identified over 200 distinct sounds used by orangutans, ranging from long-distance calls to subtle grunts and whistles. These vocalisations serve various purposes, including warnings of danger, expressions of joy, and coordination of group activities.
- Gesture Communication: In addition to vocal sounds, orangutans use a rich tapestry of gestures to communicate, such as arm waves and facial expressions. These gestures are often used in social interactions, highlighting their rich emotional intelligence and social complexity
Implications
Understanding these communication patterns not only provides a window into the cognitive abilities of orangutans but also underscores the need for conservation strategies that consider their social dynamics. Protecting their habitats allows orangutans to continue engaging in these complex social behaviours, essential for their survival and well-being.
Tool-Wielding Innovators: The Ingenious Minds of Orangutans
Recently, researchers were given insight into how orangutans showcase their remarkable intelligence through the use of tools. A study detailed the innovative ways these apes utilise objects in their environment, demonstrating a level of cognitive sophistication that rivals even our closest relatives, the chimpanzees (Motes-Rodrigo et al., 2022). This research, led by Alba Motes-Rodrigo and her team, observed wild orangutans across several regions in Sumatra.
Key Findings
- Tool Usage: The study documented instances where orangutans used sticks to extract insects from tree bark and employed leaves as makeshift umbrellas during tropical downpours. This behaviour reflects their problem-solving skills and adaptability to environmental challenges.
- Cultural Transmission: Researchers noted that tool use varied across different orangutan communities, suggesting that these skills are passed down through generations, much like cultural traditions in human societies.
Implications
These findings highlight the orangutans’ ability to innovate and adapt, underscoring the importance of preserving their habitats to allow for such natural behaviours. By understanding their tool use, conservationists can develop strategies that cater to their cognitive needs, ensuring that these intelligent beings continue to thrive in their natural environments.
Using Healing Jungle Herbs: Orangutans and Self-Medication
In an extraordinary display of natural wisdom, orangutans have been seen in the wild tending to their own painful wounds. A groundbreaking study revealed that orangutans in the wild use plants with medicinal properties to alleviate pain and discomfort (Laumer et al., 2024). This research, led by Isabelle B. Laumer and her colleagues at the University of Zurich, involved detailed observation and analysis of orangutan behaviour in their natural habitat.
Key Findings
Medicinal Plants: The study found that orangutans use various forest plants known to humans for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. They were observed chewing leaves and applying them to their skin to treat muscle and joint pain, showcasing a sophisticated understanding of the medicinal properties of their environment.
Behavioural Evidence: By closely monitoring orangutan behaviour, researchers documented over 20 instances of self-medication, providing compelling evidence of their ability to diagnose and treat their own health issues.
Implications
This remarkable discovery highlights the depth of orangutans’ ecological knowledge and underscores the importance of preserving their natural habitats. By protecting these environments, we not only safeguard the orangutans’ ability to care for themselves, but also maintain the biodiversity that supports such important medicinal plant life. Understanding this behaviour offers valuable insights into the evolution of self-care and the potential for discovering new medicinal compounds that could benefit human health as well.
Hilarious Hijinks: Great Apes and Playful Teasing
Recent research has shown that playful teasing isn’t limited to human babies. Scientists hypothesised that because language isn’t necessary for teasing, this behaviour might also exist in non-human animals. Indeed, cognitive biologists and primatologists have observed playful teasing in four great ape species. Like human humour, ape teasing involves provocation, persistence, and unexpected playful elements. The fact that all four great ape species exhibit this behaviour suggests that the origins of humour may have evolved in our shared ancestors at least 13 million years ago.
Key Findings
- Play Behaviour: Orangutans were observed engaging in various playful activities, including mock wrestling, swinging contests, and teasing games. These behaviours are crucial for social bonding and development, helping young orangutans learn social cues and build relationships.
- Emotional Intelligence: The study found that playfulness is linked to emotional intelligence, as orangutans display empathy and care in their interactions, often comforting one another during moments of distress.
Implications
Recognising the playful nature of orangutans highlights the importance of preserving their social groups and habitats. By understanding their social dynamics, conservationists can develop empathetic strategies that honour their complex social structures, ensuring the continued survival of these remarkable beings in the wild.
Family Bonds: The Deep Connections in Orangutan Communities
Orangutans, just like us spend many years nursing and nurturing their young before they are ready to fly solo. So it’s therefore no surprise that the bond between orangutan mothers and her baby is so profoundly powerful. A recent study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology observed orangutan families across various habitats in Borneo and revealed the intricacies of their connections.
Key Findings
- Long-Term Parenting: Orangutan mothers were found to invest up to eight years in raising their young, teaching them essential survival skills and knowledge about their environment. This extended parenting period is crucial for the development of independence and competence in young orangutans.
- Social Learning: The study also revealed that young orangutans learn from their mothers through observation and imitation, acquiring skills such as foraging, nest building, and navigation of the forest canopy.
Implications
Understanding the family bonds and social learning in orangutan communities highlights the urgent need to protect their habitats, ensuring that these family structures remain intact. By safeguarding their environments, we preserve the social dynamics that are critical to their well-being and survival, allowing future generations of orangutans to flourish.
Unmasking the Greenwash: The Truth Behind ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil
The palm oil industry frequently markets itself as “sustainable,” yet reports by industry watchdogs like the World Health Organisation, Greenpeace, Environmental Investigation Agency and researchers reveals that the RSPO is nothing more than an industry sponsored greenwashing body.
Key Findings
- Deforestation: The study highlights how palm oil plantations contribute significantly to deforestation in regions such as Indonesia and Malaysia, leading to the loss of critical orangutan habitats. Despite certifications like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), these practices persist, often bypassing genuine sustainability criteria.
- Impact on Indigenous Communities: In addition to environmental destruction, the expansion of palm oil plantations displaces indigenous communities, disrupting traditional ways of life and contributing to social unrest.
Implications
Exposing the greenwashing tactics of the palm oil industry is crucial for advocating genuine conservation solutions that prioritise orangutans and their ecosystems. By holding the industry accountable, we can work towards strategies that genuinely reflect the needs of these remarkable creatures and the environments they inhabit.
Take Action: Stand with Orangutans and Protect Their Future
Boycott Palm Oil and Meat Products
One of the most effective ways to support orangutans and their lush forest eden is to boycott products containing palm oil and meat. By choosing plant-based and palm oil free alternatives, you can help reduce the demand for these industries, contributing to the preservation of rainforests and protection of rare endangered animals. Learn which brands to boycott and brands to buy on the Palm Oil Detectives website.
Support Indigenous Rights
Empowering indigenous communities for self-determination is critical to protect ecosystems and animals. Organisations like WAHLI and World Rainforest Movement support indigenous rights and grassroots collective action against palm oil and timber corruption.
Raise Awareness on Social Media
Join the #Boycott4Wildlife movement on social media by sharing posts and information about the plight of orangutans. Use hashtags like #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife to spread awareness and encourage others to take action.
Be a Supermarket Sleuth
The next time you’re shopping, take a closer look at product labels to identify those containing palm oil. Share your a photo of what you discover on social media and call out brands engaging in greenwashing, using the #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife hashtags.
Conclusion
On International Orangutan Day, we celebrate the remarkable lives of orangutans and commit to protecting their future. By understanding their unique characteristics, exposing the myths of the palm oil industry, and taking action to preserve their habitats, we can ensure a brighter future for these magnificent creatures and the ecosystems they inhabit.

References
- Alba Motes-Rodrigo, Shannon P. McPherron, Will Archer, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Claudio Tennie. Experimental investigation of orangutans’ lithic percussive and sharp stone tool behaviours. PLOS ONE, 2022; 17 (2): e0263343 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Erb, W. M., Ross, W., Kazanecki, H., Setia, T. M., Madhusudhana, S., & Clink, D. J. (2024). Vocal complexity in the long calls of Bornean orangutans. PeerJ, 12, Article e17320. https://peerj.com/articles/17320
- Isabelle B. Laumer, Arif Rahman, Tri Rahmaeti, Ulil Azhari, Hermansyah, Sri Suci Utami Atmoko, Caroline Schuppli. Active self-treatment of a facial wound with a biologically active plant by a male Sumatran orangutan. Scientific Reports, 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58988-7
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Laumer I.B., Winkler S, Rossano F, Cartmill EA. Spontaneous playful teasing in four great ape species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2024 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2345
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2024). Great news: Apes have a sense of humour. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2024/03/17/great-news-apes-have-a-sense-of-humour-and-they-enjoy-teasing-each-other/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2022). Roundtable on sustainable palm oil: 19 years is enough. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/12/17/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-19-years-is-enough/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2023). Certification and ecolabels: Dubious sustainability. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/06/18/certification-ecolabels-dubious-sustainability-30-years-of-deceit-and-violence/
- University of Michigan. (2023). Palm oil deforestation in Guatemala. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/07/26/palm-oil-deforestation-in-guatemala-certifying-products-as-sustainable-is-no-panacea-university-of-michigan/
Here are some other ways you can help by using your wallet as a weapon and joining the #Boycott4Wildlife

What is greenwashing?
Read more

Why join the #Boycott4Wildlife?
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
Read more

The Counterpunch: Consumer Solutions To Fight Extinction
Read more

Contribute to my Ko-Fi
Did you enjoy visiting this website?

Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-Fi
Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-Fi
#BorneanOrangutanPongoPygmaeus #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #corruption #deforestation #free #greenwashing #infographic #orangutan #orangutans #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #SeedDispersers #seeddispersal #SumatranOrangutanPongoAbelii #TapanuliOrangutanPongoTapanuliensis #WorldOrangutanDay
#borneanorangutanpongopygmaeus #boycott4wildlife #boycottpalmoil #corruption #deforestation #free
Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] · 2024-08-18 · 12:07 UTC
August 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay
Although #WorldOrangutanDay falls on the 19th of August, every day deserves to be World Orangutan Day! So here is an infographic that you can download, print and share however you please. All three species of orangutan are classified as ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’ in S.E. Asia. Their main threat is palm oil deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia Help them and fight for their survival every time you shop! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife

Aug 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay 🦧🧡 Yet for everyone who loves them, every single day is World #Orangutan Day! Learn why “Sustainable” #palmoil is a #greenwashing lie 🌴🚫. Help orange apes every time you #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter
Happy #WorldOrangutanDay, download your #FREE #infographic in the link 🧐👇 You’ve been sold a lie! #Orangutans face extinction from “sustainable” #palmoil, which DOES NOT STOP #DEFORESTATION 🔥🌴🚫 #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife! @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter
https://youtu.be/I_wNyk3KsVg
- Orangutans are known as “gardeners” of the forest, as they are critical for seed dispersal in ecosystems.
- The slow reproductive rate of orangutans makes populations extremely vulnerable.
- Female orangutans give birth only once every 3-5 years.
- Orangutans are highly intelligent, they use tools including using boats and they pass these skills onto their children whom they raise for up to 10 years.
Help to protect them!
#Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
This infographic is creative commons attribution licence, this means you are free to use it so long as you credit Palm Oil Detectives.
See HTML interactive version Download still infographic Download PDF
Infographic Sources
Animalia: Bornean Orangutan https://animalia.bio/bornean-orangutan
Animalia: Sumatran Orangutan https://animalia.bio/sumatran-orangutan
Animalia: Tapanuli Orangutan https://animalia.bio/tapanuli-orangutan
Global Palm Oil Market (2022 to 2027) – Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecasts (2022). https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/17/2444825/28124/en/Global-Palm-Oil-Market-2022-to-2027-Industry-Trends-Share-Size-Growth-Opportunity-and-Forecasts.html
The Asian Forest Fires of 1997-1998, Mongabay. https://rainforests.mongabay.com/08indo_fires.htm
TIMELINE: Slaves, colonials, weevils: palm oil’s historic rise, Reuters (2019). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-forest-palm-timeline-sb-idUSTRE58M01I20090923
Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to RSPO members/supermarket brands, Palm Oil Detectives, (2021). https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/07/research-palm-oil-deforestation-and-its-connection-to-brands/
RSPO: History and timeline. https://rspo.org/about
Wildfires May Cause Long-Term Health Problems for Endangered Orangutans, Rutgers (2018). https://www.rutgers.edu/news/wildfires-may-cause-long-term-health-problems-endangered-orangutans

Orangutans: Architects of the Forest, Champions of Survival
Embracing International Orangutan Day: Guardians of the Canopy
On August 19th each year, orange ape enthusiasts celebrate cheeky and nurturing orangutans of Indonesia and Malaysia. With their flame-coloured fur and expressive eyes like deep obsidian pools, orangutans are not only symbols of wild intelligence, they are vital ecological architects dispersing seeds and contributing to the survival of their rainforest home.

Celebrations of World Orangutan Day are tempered with immense worry for animal lovers each year. All three species of orangutan are on the brink of extinction. The relentless expansion of industrial palm oil plantations, roads and infrastructure slices through the heart of the rainforest. Human encroachment puts these gentle giants closer to greedy and unscrupulous poachers and also farmers who kill them in retribution for invading their crops.
Read on to discover the indelible and unique scientific discoveries about orangutans over the past few years. Also take a look at this infographic to understand how palm oil colonialism and land-grabbing have manifested into a pressure cooker of risks for one of our closest evolutionary relatives. Finally learn how you can take action to help orangutans every time you shop.
Murmurs of Meaning: The Complex Language of Orangutans
Orangutans communicate in ways that continue to fascinate people. A recent study has unlocked new insights into their sophisticated communication methods, revealing how orangutans use vocalisations and gestures to convey emotions and information (Erb et al., 2024). The study, conducted by a team of researchers from several institutions, employed machine learning algorithms to analyse vocal recordings of orangutans in the wild.
Key Findings
- Diverse Vocalisations: Researchers identified over 200 distinct sounds used by orangutans, ranging from long-distance calls to subtle grunts and whistles. These vocalisations serve various purposes, including warnings of danger, expressions of joy, and coordination of group activities.
- Gesture Communication: In addition to vocal sounds, orangutans use a rich tapestry of gestures to communicate, such as arm waves and facial expressions. These gestures are often used in social interactions, highlighting their rich emotional intelligence and social complexity
Implications
Understanding these communication patterns not only provides a window into the cognitive abilities of orangutans but also underscores the need for conservation strategies that consider their social dynamics. Protecting their habitats allows orangutans to continue engaging in these complex social behaviours, essential for their survival and well-being.
Tool-Wielding Innovators: The Ingenious Minds of Orangutans
Recently, researchers were given insight into how orangutans showcase their remarkable intelligence through the use of tools. A study detailed the innovative ways these apes utilise objects in their environment, demonstrating a level of cognitive sophistication that rivals even our closest relatives, the chimpanzees (Motes-Rodrigo et al., 2022). This research, led by Alba Motes-Rodrigo and her team, observed wild orangutans across several regions in Sumatra.
Key Findings
- Tool Usage: The study documented instances where orangutans used sticks to extract insects from tree bark and employed leaves as makeshift umbrellas during tropical downpours. This behaviour reflects their problem-solving skills and adaptability to environmental challenges.
- Cultural Transmission: Researchers noted that tool use varied across different orangutan communities, suggesting that these skills are passed down through generations, much like cultural traditions in human societies.
Implications
These findings highlight the orangutans’ ability to innovate and adapt, underscoring the importance of preserving their habitats to allow for such natural behaviours. By understanding their tool use, conservationists can develop strategies that cater to their cognitive needs, ensuring that these intelligent beings continue to thrive in their natural environments.
Using Healing Jungle Herbs: Orangutans and Self-Medication
In an extraordinary display of natural wisdom, orangutans have been seen in the wild tending to their own painful wounds. A groundbreaking study revealed that orangutans in the wild use plants with medicinal properties to alleviate pain and discomfort (Laumer et al., 2024). This research, led by Isabelle B. Laumer and her colleagues at the University of Zurich, involved detailed observation and analysis of orangutan behaviour in their natural habitat.
Key Findings
Medicinal Plants: The study found that orangutans use various forest plants known to humans for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. They were observed chewing leaves and applying them to their skin to treat muscle and joint pain, showcasing a sophisticated understanding of the medicinal properties of their environment.
Behavioural Evidence: By closely monitoring orangutan behaviour, researchers documented over 20 instances of self-medication, providing compelling evidence of their ability to diagnose and treat their own health issues.
Implications
This remarkable discovery highlights the depth of orangutans’ ecological knowledge and underscores the importance of preserving their natural habitats. By protecting these environments, we not only safeguard the orangutans’ ability to care for themselves, but also maintain the biodiversity that supports such important medicinal plant life. Understanding this behaviour offers valuable insights into the evolution of self-care and the potential for discovering new medicinal compounds that could benefit human health as well.
Hilarious Hijinks: Great Apes and Playful Teasing
Recent research has shown that playful teasing isn’t limited to human babies. Scientists hypothesised that because language isn’t necessary for teasing, this behaviour might also exist in non-human animals. Indeed, cognitive biologists and primatologists have observed playful teasing in four great ape species. Like human humour, ape teasing involves provocation, persistence, and unexpected playful elements. The fact that all four great ape species exhibit this behaviour suggests that the origins of humour may have evolved in our shared ancestors at least 13 million years ago.
Key Findings
- Play Behaviour: Orangutans were observed engaging in various playful activities, including mock wrestling, swinging contests, and teasing games. These behaviours are crucial for social bonding and development, helping young orangutans learn social cues and build relationships.
- Emotional Intelligence: The study found that playfulness is linked to emotional intelligence, as orangutans display empathy and care in their interactions, often comforting one another during moments of distress.
Implications
Recognising the playful nature of orangutans highlights the importance of preserving their social groups and habitats. By understanding their social dynamics, conservationists can develop empathetic strategies that honour their complex social structures, ensuring the continued survival of these remarkable beings in the wild.
Family Bonds: The Deep Connections in Orangutan Communities
Orangutans, just like us spend many years nursing and nurturing their young before they are ready to fly solo. So it’s therefore no surprise that the bond between orangutan mothers and her baby is so profoundly powerful. A recent study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology observed orangutan families across various habitats in Borneo and revealed the intricacies of their connections.
Key Findings
- Long-Term Parenting: Orangutan mothers were found to invest up to eight years in raising their young, teaching them essential survival skills and knowledge about their environment. This extended parenting period is crucial for the development of independence and competence in young orangutans.
- Social Learning: The study also revealed that young orangutans learn from their mothers through observation and imitation, acquiring skills such as foraging, nest building, and navigation of the forest canopy.
Implications
Understanding the family bonds and social learning in orangutan communities highlights the urgent need to protect their habitats, ensuring that these family structures remain intact. By safeguarding their environments, we preserve the social dynamics that are critical to their well-being and survival, allowing future generations of orangutans to flourish.
Unmasking the Greenwash: The Truth Behind ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil
The palm oil industry frequently markets itself as “sustainable,” yet reports by industry watchdogs like the World Health Organisation, Greenpeace, Environmental Investigation Agency and researchers reveals that the RSPO is nothing more than an industry sponsored greenwashing body.
Key Findings
- Deforestation: The study highlights how palm oil plantations contribute significantly to deforestation in regions such as Indonesia and Malaysia, leading to the loss of critical orangutan habitats. Despite certifications like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), these practices persist, often bypassing genuine sustainability criteria.
- Impact on Indigenous Communities: In addition to environmental destruction, the expansion of palm oil plantations displaces indigenous communities, disrupting traditional ways of life and contributing to social unrest.
Implications
Exposing the greenwashing tactics of the palm oil industry is crucial for advocating genuine conservation solutions that prioritise orangutans and their ecosystems. By holding the industry accountable, we can work towards strategies that genuinely reflect the needs of these remarkable creatures and the environments they inhabit.
Take Action: Stand with Orangutans and Protect Their Future
Boycott Palm Oil and Meat Products
One of the most effective ways to support orangutans and their lush forest eden is to boycott products containing palm oil and meat. By choosing plant-based and palm oil free alternatives, you can help reduce the demand for these industries, contributing to the preservation of rainforests and protection of rare endangered animals. Learn which brands to boycott and brands to buy on the Palm Oil Detectives website.
Support Indigenous Rights
Empowering indigenous communities for self-determination is critical to protect ecosystems and animals. Organisations like WAHLI and World Rainforest Movement support indigenous rights and grassroots collective action against palm oil and timber corruption.
Raise Awareness on Social Media
Join the #Boycott4Wildlife movement on social media by sharing posts and information about the plight of orangutans. Use hashtags like #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife to spread awareness and encourage others to take action.
Be a Supermarket Sleuth
The next time you’re shopping, take a closer look at product labels to identify those containing palm oil. Share your a photo of what you discover on social media and call out brands engaging in greenwashing, using the #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife hashtags.
Conclusion
On International Orangutan Day, we celebrate the remarkable lives of orangutans and commit to protecting their future. By understanding their unique characteristics, exposing the myths of the palm oil industry, and taking action to preserve their habitats, we can ensure a brighter future for these magnificent creatures and the ecosystems they inhabit.

References
- Alba Motes-Rodrigo, Shannon P. McPherron, Will Archer, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Claudio Tennie. Experimental investigation of orangutans’ lithic percussive and sharp stone tool behaviours. PLOS ONE, 2022; 17 (2): e0263343 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Erb, W. M., Ross, W., Kazanecki, H., Setia, T. M., Madhusudhana, S., & Clink, D. J. (2024). Vocal complexity in the long calls of Bornean orangutans. PeerJ, 12, Article e17320. https://peerj.com/articles/17320
- Isabelle B. Laumer, Arif Rahman, Tri Rahmaeti, Ulil Azhari, Hermansyah, Sri Suci Utami Atmoko, Caroline Schuppli. Active self-treatment of a facial wound with a biologically active plant by a male Sumatran orangutan. Scientific Reports, 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58988-7
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Laumer I.B., Winkler S, Rossano F, Cartmill EA. Spontaneous playful teasing in four great ape species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2024 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2345
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2024). Great news: Apes have a sense of humour. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2024/03/17/great-news-apes-have-a-sense-of-humour-and-they-enjoy-teasing-each-other/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2022). Roundtable on sustainable palm oil: 19 years is enough. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/12/17/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-19-years-is-enough/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2023). Certification and ecolabels: Dubious sustainability. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/06/18/certification-ecolabels-dubious-sustainability-30-years-of-deceit-and-violence/
- University of Michigan. (2023). Palm oil deforestation in Guatemala. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/07/26/palm-oil-deforestation-in-guatemala-certifying-products-as-sustainable-is-no-panacea-university-of-michigan/
Here are some other ways you can help by using your wallet as a weapon and joining the #Boycott4Wildlife

What is greenwashing?
Read more

Why join the #Boycott4Wildlife?
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
Read more

The Counterpunch: Consumer Solutions To Fight Extinction
Read more

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Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-Fi
Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-Fi
#BorneanOrangutanPongoPygmaeus #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #corruption #deforestation #free #greenwashing #infographic #orangutan #orangutans #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #SeedDispersers #seeddispersal #SumatranOrangutanPongoAbelii #TapanuliOrangutanPongoTapanuliensis #WorldOrangutanDay
#worldorangutanday #tapanuliorangutanpongotapanuliensis #sumatranorangutanpongoabelii #seeddispersal #seeddispersers #rspogreenwashing
Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] · 2024-08-18 · 12:07 UTC
August 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay
Although #WorldOrangutanDay falls on the 19th of August, every day deserves to be World Orangutan Day! So here is an infographic that you can download, print and share however you please. All three species of orangutan are classified as ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’ in S.E. Asia. Their main threat is palm oil deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia Help them and fight for their survival every time you shop! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife

Aug 19th is #WorldOrangutanDay 🦧🧡 Yet for everyone who loves them, every single day is World #Orangutan Day! Learn why “Sustainable” #palmoil is a #greenwashing lie 🌴🚫. Help orange apes every time you #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter
Happy #WorldOrangutanDay, download your #FREE #infographic in the link 🧐👇 You’ve been sold a lie! #Orangutans face extinction from “sustainable” #palmoil, which DOES NOT STOP #DEFORESTATION 🔥🌴🚫 #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife! @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4t7
Share to BlueSky Share to Twitter
https://youtu.be/I_wNyk3KsVg
- Orangutans are known as “gardeners” of the forest, as they are critical for seed dispersal in ecosystems.
- The slow reproductive rate of orangutans makes populations extremely vulnerable.
- Female orangutans give birth only once every 3-5 years.
- Orangutans are highly intelligent, they use tools including using boats and they pass these skills onto their children whom they raise for up to 10 years.
Help to protect them!
#Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
This infographic is creative commons attribution licence, this means you are free to use it so long as you credit Palm Oil Detectives.
See HTML interactive version Download still infographic Download PDF
Infographic Sources
Animalia: Bornean Orangutan https://animalia.bio/bornean-orangutan
Animalia: Sumatran Orangutan https://animalia.bio/sumatran-orangutan
Animalia: Tapanuli Orangutan https://animalia.bio/tapanuli-orangutan
Global Palm Oil Market (2022 to 2027) – Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecasts (2022). https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/17/2444825/28124/en/Global-Palm-Oil-Market-2022-to-2027-Industry-Trends-Share-Size-Growth-Opportunity-and-Forecasts.html
The Asian Forest Fires of 1997-1998, Mongabay. https://rainforests.mongabay.com/08indo_fires.htm
TIMELINE: Slaves, colonials, weevils: palm oil’s historic rise, Reuters (2019). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-forest-palm-timeline-sb-idUSTRE58M01I20090923
Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to RSPO members/supermarket brands, Palm Oil Detectives, (2021). https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/07/research-palm-oil-deforestation-and-its-connection-to-brands/
RSPO: History and timeline. https://rspo.org/about
Wildfires May Cause Long-Term Health Problems for Endangered Orangutans, Rutgers (2018). https://www.rutgers.edu/news/wildfires-may-cause-long-term-health-problems-endangered-orangutans

Orangutans: Architects of the Forest, Champions of Survival
Embracing International Orangutan Day: Guardians of the Canopy
On August 19th each year, orange ape enthusiasts celebrate cheeky and nurturing orangutans of Indonesia and Malaysia. With their flame-coloured fur and expressive eyes like deep obsidian pools, orangutans are not only symbols of wild intelligence, they are vital ecological architects dispersing seeds and contributing to the survival of their rainforest home.

Celebrations of World Orangutan Day are tempered with immense worry for animal lovers each year. All three species of orangutan are on the brink of extinction. The relentless expansion of industrial palm oil plantations, roads and infrastructure slices through the heart of the rainforest. Human encroachment puts these gentle giants closer to greedy and unscrupulous poachers and also farmers who kill them in retribution for invading their crops.
Read on to discover the indelible and unique scientific discoveries about orangutans over the past few years. Also take a look at this infographic to understand how palm oil colonialism and land-grabbing have manifested into a pressure cooker of risks for one of our closest evolutionary relatives. Finally learn how you can take action to help orangutans every time you shop.
Murmurs of Meaning: The Complex Language of Orangutans
Orangutans communicate in ways that continue to fascinate people. A recent study has unlocked new insights into their sophisticated communication methods, revealing how orangutans use vocalisations and gestures to convey emotions and information (Erb et al., 2024). The study, conducted by a team of researchers from several institutions, employed machine learning algorithms to analyse vocal recordings of orangutans in the wild.
Key Findings
- Diverse Vocalisations: Researchers identified over 200 distinct sounds used by orangutans, ranging from long-distance calls to subtle grunts and whistles. These vocalisations serve various purposes, including warnings of danger, expressions of joy, and coordination of group activities.
- Gesture Communication: In addition to vocal sounds, orangutans use a rich tapestry of gestures to communicate, such as arm waves and facial expressions. These gestures are often used in social interactions, highlighting their rich emotional intelligence and social complexity
Implications
Understanding these communication patterns not only provides a window into the cognitive abilities of orangutans but also underscores the need for conservation strategies that consider their social dynamics. Protecting their habitats allows orangutans to continue engaging in these complex social behaviours, essential for their survival and well-being.
Tool-Wielding Innovators: The Ingenious Minds of Orangutans
Recently, researchers were given insight into how orangutans showcase their remarkable intelligence through the use of tools. A study detailed the innovative ways these apes utilise objects in their environment, demonstrating a level of cognitive sophistication that rivals even our closest relatives, the chimpanzees (Motes-Rodrigo et al., 2022). This research, led by Alba Motes-Rodrigo and her team, observed wild orangutans across several regions in Sumatra.
Key Findings
- Tool Usage: The study documented instances where orangutans used sticks to extract insects from tree bark and employed leaves as makeshift umbrellas during tropical downpours. This behaviour reflects their problem-solving skills and adaptability to environmental challenges.
- Cultural Transmission: Researchers noted that tool use varied across different orangutan communities, suggesting that these skills are passed down through generations, much like cultural traditions in human societies.
Implications
These findings highlight the orangutans’ ability to innovate and adapt, underscoring the importance of preserving their habitats to allow for such natural behaviours. By understanding their tool use, conservationists can develop strategies that cater to their cognitive needs, ensuring that these intelligent beings continue to thrive in their natural environments.
Using Healing Jungle Herbs: Orangutans and Self-Medication
In an extraordinary display of natural wisdom, orangutans have been seen in the wild tending to their own painful wounds. A groundbreaking study revealed that orangutans in the wild use plants with medicinal properties to alleviate pain and discomfort (Laumer et al., 2024). This research, led by Isabelle B. Laumer and her colleagues at the University of Zurich, involved detailed observation and analysis of orangutan behaviour in their natural habitat.
Key Findings
Medicinal Plants: The study found that orangutans use various forest plants known to humans for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. They were observed chewing leaves and applying them to their skin to treat muscle and joint pain, showcasing a sophisticated understanding of the medicinal properties of their environment.
Behavioural Evidence: By closely monitoring orangutan behaviour, researchers documented over 20 instances of self-medication, providing compelling evidence of their ability to diagnose and treat their own health issues.
Implications
This remarkable discovery highlights the depth of orangutans’ ecological knowledge and underscores the importance of preserving their natural habitats. By protecting these environments, we not only safeguard the orangutans’ ability to care for themselves, but also maintain the biodiversity that supports such important medicinal plant life. Understanding this behaviour offers valuable insights into the evolution of self-care and the potential for discovering new medicinal compounds that could benefit human health as well.
Hilarious Hijinks: Great Apes and Playful Teasing
Recent research has shown that playful teasing isn’t limited to human babies. Scientists hypothesised that because language isn’t necessary for teasing, this behaviour might also exist in non-human animals. Indeed, cognitive biologists and primatologists have observed playful teasing in four great ape species. Like human humour, ape teasing involves provocation, persistence, and unexpected playful elements. The fact that all four great ape species exhibit this behaviour suggests that the origins of humour may have evolved in our shared ancestors at least 13 million years ago.
Key Findings
- Play Behaviour: Orangutans were observed engaging in various playful activities, including mock wrestling, swinging contests, and teasing games. These behaviours are crucial for social bonding and development, helping young orangutans learn social cues and build relationships.
- Emotional Intelligence: The study found that playfulness is linked to emotional intelligence, as orangutans display empathy and care in their interactions, often comforting one another during moments of distress.
Implications
Recognising the playful nature of orangutans highlights the importance of preserving their social groups and habitats. By understanding their social dynamics, conservationists can develop empathetic strategies that honour their complex social structures, ensuring the continued survival of these remarkable beings in the wild.
Family Bonds: The Deep Connections in Orangutan Communities
Orangutans, just like us spend many years nursing and nurturing their young before they are ready to fly solo. So it’s therefore no surprise that the bond between orangutan mothers and her baby is so profoundly powerful. A recent study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology observed orangutan families across various habitats in Borneo and revealed the intricacies of their connections.
Key Findings
- Long-Term Parenting: Orangutan mothers were found to invest up to eight years in raising their young, teaching them essential survival skills and knowledge about their environment. This extended parenting period is crucial for the development of independence and competence in young orangutans.
- Social Learning: The study also revealed that young orangutans learn from their mothers through observation and imitation, acquiring skills such as foraging, nest building, and navigation of the forest canopy.
Implications
Understanding the family bonds and social learning in orangutan communities highlights the urgent need to protect their habitats, ensuring that these family structures remain intact. By safeguarding their environments, we preserve the social dynamics that are critical to their well-being and survival, allowing future generations of orangutans to flourish.
Unmasking the Greenwash: The Truth Behind ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil
The palm oil industry frequently markets itself as “sustainable,” yet reports by industry watchdogs like the World Health Organisation, Greenpeace, Environmental Investigation Agency and researchers reveals that the RSPO is nothing more than an industry sponsored greenwashing body.
Key Findings
- Deforestation: The study highlights how palm oil plantations contribute significantly to deforestation in regions such as Indonesia and Malaysia, leading to the loss of critical orangutan habitats. Despite certifications like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), these practices persist, often bypassing genuine sustainability criteria.
- Impact on Indigenous Communities: In addition to environmental destruction, the expansion of palm oil plantations displaces indigenous communities, disrupting traditional ways of life and contributing to social unrest.
Implications
Exposing the greenwashing tactics of the palm oil industry is crucial for advocating genuine conservation solutions that prioritise orangutans and their ecosystems. By holding the industry accountable, we can work towards strategies that genuinely reflect the needs of these remarkable creatures and the environments they inhabit.
Take Action: Stand with Orangutans and Protect Their Future
Boycott Palm Oil and Meat Products
One of the most effective ways to support orangutans and their lush forest eden is to boycott products containing palm oil and meat. By choosing plant-based and palm oil free alternatives, you can help reduce the demand for these industries, contributing to the preservation of rainforests and protection of rare endangered animals. Learn which brands to boycott and brands to buy on the Palm Oil Detectives website.
Support Indigenous Rights
Empowering indigenous communities for self-determination is critical to protect ecosystems and animals. Organisations like WAHLI and World Rainforest Movement support indigenous rights and grassroots collective action against palm oil and timber corruption.
Raise Awareness on Social Media
Join the #Boycott4Wildlife movement on social media by sharing posts and information about the plight of orangutans. Use hashtags like #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife to spread awareness and encourage others to take action.
Be a Supermarket Sleuth
The next time you’re shopping, take a closer look at product labels to identify those containing palm oil. Share your a photo of what you discover on social media and call out brands engaging in greenwashing, using the #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife hashtags.
Conclusion
On International Orangutan Day, we celebrate the remarkable lives of orangutans and commit to protecting their future. By understanding their unique characteristics, exposing the myths of the palm oil industry, and taking action to preserve their habitats, we can ensure a brighter future for these magnificent creatures and the ecosystems they inhabit.

References
- Alba Motes-Rodrigo, Shannon P. McPherron, Will Archer, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Claudio Tennie. Experimental investigation of orangutans’ lithic percussive and sharp stone tool behaviours. PLOS ONE, 2022; 17 (2): e0263343 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Erb, W. M., Ross, W., Kazanecki, H., Setia, T. M., Madhusudhana, S., & Clink, D. J. (2024). Vocal complexity in the long calls of Bornean orangutans. PeerJ, 12, Article e17320. https://peerj.com/articles/17320
- Isabelle B. Laumer, Arif Rahman, Tri Rahmaeti, Ulil Azhari, Hermansyah, Sri Suci Utami Atmoko, Caroline Schuppli. Active self-treatment of a facial wound with a biologically active plant by a male Sumatran orangutan. Scientific Reports, 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58988-7
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0263343
- Laumer I.B., Winkler S, Rossano F, Cartmill EA. Spontaneous playful teasing in four great ape species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2024 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2345
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2024). Great news: Apes have a sense of humour. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2024/03/17/great-news-apes-have-a-sense-of-humour-and-they-enjoy-teasing-each-other/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2022). Roundtable on sustainable palm oil: 19 years is enough. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/12/17/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-19-years-is-enough/
- Palm Oil Detectives. (2023). Certification and ecolabels: Dubious sustainability. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/06/18/certification-ecolabels-dubious-sustainability-30-years-of-deceit-and-violence/
- University of Michigan. (2023). Palm oil deforestation in Guatemala. Palm Oil Detectives. Retrieved from https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/07/26/palm-oil-deforestation-in-guatemala-certifying-products-as-sustainable-is-no-panacea-university-of-michigan/
Here are some other ways you can help by using your wallet as a weapon and joining the #Boycott4Wildlife

What is greenwashing?
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Why join the #Boycott4Wildlife?
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
Read more

The Counterpunch: Consumer Solutions To Fight Extinction
Read more

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Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
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Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded
Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.
Say thanks on Ko-Fi
#BorneanOrangutanPongoPygmaeus #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #corruption #deforestation #free #greenwashing #infographic #orangutan #orangutans #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #SeedDispersers #seeddispersal #SumatranOrangutanPongoAbelii #TapanuliOrangutanPongoTapanuliensis #WorldOrangutanDay
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Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] · 2021-10-10 · 21:45 UTC
Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying

Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth

Greenwashing by Lying
Blatant lies that appear in advertising or on social media. The lie could be falsifying support from respected authorities or individuals on environmental issues. Or the lie could be research with ambiguous results being made to sound positive. Sometimes, it is a clear and obvious lie.

Tweet this…
#Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying: Telling outright lies to #consumers until they are believed as truth. #palmoil lobbyists and global food companies lie about ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing
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Greenwashing: Endangered species
Reality: Endangered species

Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers
Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers
An open letter from Friends of the Earth and 100 Human Rights NGOs

Greenwashing: Deforestation and fire
Greenwashing: Lies and denialism in the media
Reality: Deforestation and fire

Explore the Series

Further reading: greenwashing and deceptive marketing

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Greenwashing:
RSPO certification protects endangered species living in tropical rainforests

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RSPO marketing materials make grand claims that are not supported by any evidence at all.
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1660543540378697729?s=20

The team from Chester Zoo encourage children to save endangered species by buying sustainable palm oil.
Lyrics: ‘We have a choice – and it’s sustainable palm oil’

https://youtu.be/1jHNiRJ9OgI

Michelle Desilets, Manager of Orangutan Land Trust explains in this video that ‘deforestation is prohibited by the RSPO’.
What she does not mention is that none of the RSPO’s members have actually stopped deforestation in the 17 years since it began.

https://youtu.be/cJLP0SzoUdY

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https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1200683887497756672?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/894844642327502848?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1281240693285875712?s=20

https://twitter.com/griffjane/status/1301407429373165568?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1305809870281732096?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1246908272931753988?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1002860521215942656?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1414519913457270794?s=20
https://youtu.be/HkcZrJiudRc

Reality: “Sustainable” Palm Oil does not stop biodiversity loss

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“In the plantation, the calls of birds and beasts are replaced by a deathly silence, which is particularly eerie in the glaring heat of the midday sun. Sounds of life are replaced by sounds of death—roaring bull-dozers, gnawing chainsaws, the crackle of illegal burning, and the rumble of overloaded trucks carrying oil palm fruit and timber.”.
~ Dr Sophie Chao. In the Shadow of the Palms, pp. 45.

Currently certified grower supply bases and concessions in Sumatra and Borneo are located in large mammal’s habitat and in areas that were biodiverse tropical forests less than 30 years ago. We suggest that certification schemes claim for the “sustainable” production of palm oil just because they neglect a very recent past of deforestation and habitat degradation.
Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Alena Velichevskaya, Certified “sustainable” palm oil took the place of endangered Bornean and Sumatran large mammals habitat and tropical forests in the last 30 years, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 742, 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140712.

Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.
Emily B. Fitzherbert, Matthew J. Struebig, Alexandra Morel, Finn Danielsen, Carsten A. Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.
We found that certified plantation concessions that are committed to deforestation-free production are limited in their ability to prevent further biodiversity loss, due to the past conversion of forest habitats to plantations. Concession holders can improve forest habitats through corridor development and other measures, which would mitigate, but not prevent, further biodiversity loss.

Hideyuki Kubo, Arief Darmawan, Hendarto, André Derek Mader,
The effect of agricultural certification schemes on biodiversity loss in the tropics,
Biological Conservation, Volume 261, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109243.
We uncover the global patterns of oil palm expansion and find that global oil palm expansion has a very high degree of potential conflict with local biodiversity. Globally, 99.9% of oil palm plantations overlapped with Conservation Priority Zones (CPZs) and oil palm plantations encroached on 231 protected areas.
Le Yu, Yue Cao, Yuqi Cheng, Qiang Zhao, Yidi Xu, Kasturi Kanniah, Hui Lu, Rui Yang & Peng Gong (2022) A study of the serious conflicts between oil palm expansion and biodiversity conservation using high-resolution remote sensing, Remote Sensing Letters, DOI: 10.1080/2150704X.2022.2063701

https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20
We found a high overlap between areas of high oil palm suitability and areas of high conservation priority for primates. Overall, we found only a few small areas where oil palm could be cultivated in Africa with a low impact on primates (3.3 Mha, including all areas suitable for oil palm). These results warn that, consistent with the dramatic effects of palm oil cultivation on biodiversity in Southeast Asia, reconciling a large-scale development of oil palm in Africa with primate conservation will be a great challenge.
Small room for compromise between oil palm cultivation and primate conservation in Africa
Giovanni Strona, Simon D. Stringer, Ghislain Vieilledent, et. al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018), 115 (35) 8811-8816; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1804775115
As of 2019, more than 60% of the palm oil plantations in the study area were in Key Biodiversity Areas. KBAs are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. RSPO-certified plantations, comprising 63% of the total cultivated area assessed, did not produce a statistically significant reduction in deforestation and appear to be ineffective at reducing encroachment into ecologically sensitive areas in Guatemala.
Calli P. VanderWilde, Joshua P. Newell, Dimitrios Gounaridis, Benjamin P. Goldstein,
Deforestation, certification, and transnational palm oil supply chains: Linking Guatemala to global consumer markets, Journal of Environmental Management,
Volume 344, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118505

There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.
Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032, 2018.

“The big message is that oil palm is bad for biodiversity, in every sense of the word — even when compared to damaged rainforests that are regenerating after earlier logging or clearing.”
Professor Bill Laurance, James Cook University. ‘Palm oil plantations are bad for wildlife great and small’. The Conversation.

We analyse consequences of the globally important land-use transformation from tropical forests to oil palm plantations. Species diversity, density and biomass of invertebrate communities suffer at least 45% decreases from rainforest to oil palm.
Barnes, A., Jochum, M., Mumme, S. et al. Consequences of tropical land use for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nat Commun 5, 5351 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6351
Palm oil also poses a global risk for zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19
Taking into account the human population growth, we find that the increases in outbreaks of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases from 1990 to 2016 are linked with deforestation, mostly in tropical countries, and with reforestation, mostly in temperate countries. We also find that outbreaks of vector-borne diseases are associated with the increase in areas of palm oil plantations.
Outbreaks of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases Are Associated With Changes in Forest Cover and Oil Palm Expansion at Global Scale
(2021) Morand Serge, Lajaunie Claire, Frontiers in Veterinary Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2021.661063
DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.661063

Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

Fire started within orangutan habitats and destroyed them – this was not investigated by the RSPO

The team used map data from @globalforests and @UMBaltimore, #sentinel2 images from @esa, concession boundaries from @RSPOtweets and #fire hotspot data (#VIIRS) from @NASAEarth.
Originally tweeted by Adina Renner (@adinarenner) on May 10, 2021.
Read more

Asia: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Africa: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Papua New Guinea & West Papua: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

South America: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Greenwashing
‘Europeans have destroyed their forests for agriculture, so why can’t we do the same in the tropics? Stopping our economic development is hypocrisy and colonialism’
‘Sustainable palm oil helps the livelihood of workers on RSPO certified palm oil plantations.‘

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Research analysing media and social media messages around palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia finds that palm oil lobbyists use an ‘Us’ Versus ‘Them’ narrative, in other words, they invoke colonial racism to justify continued deforestation and ecocide.
Four mutually complementary narratives were used by Indonesian and Malaysian media to construe denialism These denialist narratives appeal to a nationalist sentiment of ‘us’ – palm oil-producing developing countries – and ‘them’ – western developed countries producing research critical of the industry.
Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

We had the luck to be born into a developed country, I believe we need to acknowledge the right of lesser-developed countries to develop. We simply have no right to tell a country like Indonesia to forgo economic development, but we can help to steer that development in a sustainable direction.
Michelle Desilets, Director, Orangutan Land Trust. The Switch Report, 2014
RSPO advertisement from social media, with a focus on promoting better workers rights under certified palm oil. An RSPO advertisement targeting the Indian market in 2021 by the RSPO showing supposed benefits for palm oil workers.
https://youtu.be/2ugIE0UJYc4

Social media messaging by palm oil lobbyists reflects a focus on ‘Us’: poor, palm oil producing nations, versus ‘Them’: the ‘greedy, already developed West.

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1295253527191642113?s=20
https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1420662530863550464?s=20

https://twitter.com/palm_eu/status/1440943483410386945?s=20
https://twitter.com/emeijaard/status/1191961097294757889?s=20

https://twitter.com/palmoilmonitor/status/1445795527560515587?s=20
https://twitter.com/CIFOR/status/1016759321701552133?s=20

Reality: Human rights abuses and landgrabbing are ongoing for “sustainable” palm oil

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University of Michigan 2023 study: RSPO plantations do not reduce deforestation in Guatemala
Read more
A 2021 Investigation by Global Witness found that palm oil companies in Papua New Guinea are alleged to have been involved in corruption, child labour, tax evasion, deforestation, worker deaths and paying police to assault villagers.
The palm oil from these mills in Papua New Guinea is used by RSPO members Colgate-Palmolive, Kelloggs, General Mills, Nestle, Hersheys, Danone, PZ Cussons – finds its way into our weekly supermarket shop.
Read report
https://twitter.com/earthsight/status/1192827396451438592?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

https://twitter.com/Rainforest_RIN/status/1541428640491212801?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry finds extensive greenwashing of human rights abuses
Read more
Certified goods improve the price and income of sale for certified goods, but they do not advance equity, income or assets for workers

We identified 64 conflicts that involved RSPO member companies, of which 17 prompted communities to convey their grievances to the RSPO’s conflict resolution mechanism…We conclude that—on all counts—the conflict resolution mechanism is biased in favor of companies. The result of these biases is that the actual capacity of the RSPO’s mechanism to provide a meaningful remedy for rural communities’ grievances remains very limited. This unequal access to justice sustains conflicts between companies and communities over land.
Afrizal, A., Hospes, O., Berenschot, W. et al. Unequal access to justice: an evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agric Hum Values 40, 291–304 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z

We find positive effects on prices and income from sale of certified products. However, we find no change in overall household income and assets for workers. The wages for workers are not higher in certified production.
Oya, C., Schaefer, F. & Skalidou, D. The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: a systematic review. World Dev. 112, 282–312 (2018).

We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.
Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

Oil palm expansion is shaped by wider political economies and development policies.
Market-based development policies have favored large-scale over smallholder production.
Benefits from oil palm are unevenly distributed across rural population.
Violence across forest frontiers has fueled conflicts linked to oil palm.
Weak forest governance has led to significant deforestation by industrial plantations.
A. Castellanos-Navarrete, F. de Castro, P. Pacheco,
The impact of oil palm on rural livelihoods and tropical forest landscapes in Latin America, Journal of Rural Studies,
Volume 81, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.047.
Deforestation by fire for palm oilDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography After a forest fire in Sumatra – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to retail brands
This article argues that the form of sustainability offered by certification schemes such as the RSPO fetishes the commodity palm oil in order to assuage critical consumer initiatives in the North. This technical-managerial solution is part of a larger project: the “post-political” climate politics regime (Swyngedouw) that attempts to “green” the status quo.
Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228
- The palm oil industry is neither sustainable nor a viable development model.
- Certification represents a technical fix which neglects underlying dynamics of power, class, gender and accumulation.
- The fetishised commodity ‘certified sustainable palm oil’ has no impact on the regional scale of expansion.
- Working conditions in the plantations and mills entrench social inequality and poverty.
From: Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228
Deforestation in West PapuaDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography
Deforestation for palm oil: the impact of increased heat on human health
477 villages throughout Kalimantan were surveyed about forest health benefits.
The most frequent answer was maintenance of cool local temperatures.
Perceptions were driven by deforestation and local temperature.
Results point to possible threat of heat impacts on health.
Policy should incorporate human health when considering land use.

Nicholas H. Wolff, Yuta J. Masuda, Erik Meijaard, Jessie A. Wells, Edward T. Game,
Impacts of tropical deforestation on local temperature and human well-being perceptions, Global Environmental Change, Volume 52, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.004.

The False Promise of Certification, Changing Markets (2018)

“While RSPO is often referred to as the best scheme in the sector, it
has several shortcomings; most notably, it allows the conversion of secondary forests and the draining
of peatlands, it has not prevented human rights violations and it does not require GHG emissions
reductions.
“In light of this, we call for action to reduce demand for palm oil, such as
ditching biofuels targets, as well as channelling new plantations into non-forested areas by putting in
place a strong moratorium on palm oil expansion to forests and peatlands. Most schemes in this sector
should be abolished in light of their failures on multiple fronts.”
— The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets
The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets Download report
MSI’s (Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives including the RSPO and Rainforest Alliance) are inadequate in detecting human rights abuses and uphold standards

“MSIs put considerable emphasis on the standards that they set, but have not developed effective mechanisms for detecting abuses, enforcing compliance with those standards, or transparently disclosing levels of compliance. Despite the emergence of models that enable rights holders to legally enforce MSIs’ standards or to be actively engaged in monitoring companies for abuses, MSIs have not adopted them. By focusing on setting standards without adequately ensuring if members are following those standards, MSIs risk providing companies and governments with powerful reputational benefits despite the persistence of rights abuses.”
~ MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020)
MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020) Download report
The difficulty of addressing and resolving oil palm conflicts is due not only to the inadequacies of Indonesia’s legal framework regarding land and plantations but also to the way in which Indonesia’s informalized state institutions foster collusion between local power holders and palm oil companies. This collusion enables companies to evade regulation, suppress community protests and avoid engaging in constructive efforts to resolve conflicts. Furthermore, this collusion has made the available conflict resolution mechanisms largely ineffective.
Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002

Associated Press 2020 Report: Beauty Brands (RSPO members) L’Oreal, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson& Johnson, Unilever linked to rape on palm oil plantations

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1330163571951611906?s=20
https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1329701899180924928?s=20
Associated Press Investigation (2020) finds wide-spread rape, human rights abuses and slavery on palm oil plantations for well known brands: Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Avon, Colgate Palmolive Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words
“The expansion of oil palm plantations has created many detrimental environmental impacts, including deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land conflicts, labour conflicts, and social conflicts around plantations.
“Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established.
“In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic.”
— Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer, In His Own Words.

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Global corporates are responsible for the majority of palm oil production and deforestation risk, not smallholder farmers

The three biggest palm oil traders: Sinar Mas, Wilmar and Musim Mas – are founding members of the RSPO. They have the biggest deforestation risk of all other palm oil companies combined. Deforestation goes against the RSPO’s rules – yet these big companies do not lose their RSPO membership or face punishment.
Source: Insights: Indonesian Palm Oil. Trase Earth (2018)
Search the Environmental Justice Atlas for specific companies and their human rights abuses and land-grabbing record
Search here
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RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector
Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018
Read original letter
Letter
During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.
RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.
They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:
1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.
Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.
Violence is intrinsic to this model:
- violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
- companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
- sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
- Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
- working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
- exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
- depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.
RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.
The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.
None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.
Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.
On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.
RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.
For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.
RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.
Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.
RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.
This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.
Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.
Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.
The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.
What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.
Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.
For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
As immediate steps, governments need to:
- Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
- Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
- Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
- Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.
Signatures
- Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
- ActionAid, France
- AGAPAN
  Amics arbres
- Arbres amics
- Amis de la Terre France
- ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
- Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
  Asociación Gaia El Salvador
- Association Congo Actif, Paris
- Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
- Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
- BASE IS
- Bézu St Eloi
- Boxberg OT Uhyst
- Bread for all
- Bruno Manser Fund
- CADDECAE, Ecuador
- Campaign to STOP GE Trees
- CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
- Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
- CESTA – FOE El Salvador
- CETRI – Centre tricontinental
- Climate Change Kenya
- Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
- Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
- Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
- Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
- Consumers Association of Penang
- Corporate Europe Observatory
- Cuttington University
- Down to Earth Consult
- El Campello
- Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
- Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
- FASE ES , Brazil
- Fédération romande des consommateurs
- FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
- Focus on the Global South
- Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
- Friends of the Earth Ghana
- Friends of the Earth International
- GE Free NZ, New Zealand
- Global Alliance against REDD
- Global Justice Ecology Project
- Global Info
- Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
- GRAIN
- Green Development Advocates (GDA)
- CameroonGreystones, Ireland
- Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
  Grupo ETC
- Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
- Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
- Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
- Justica Ambiental
- Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
- Kempityari
- Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
- Les gens du partage
- LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
- Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
- Maiouri nature, Guyane
- Mangrove Action Project
- Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
- Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
- Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
- Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
- New Wind Association from Finland
- NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
- Oakland Institute
- OFRANEH, Honduras
- Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
- ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
- OPIROMA, Brazil
- Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
- Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
- PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
- Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
- Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
- Rainforest Foundation UK
- Rainforest Relief
- ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
- RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
- Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
- REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
- Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
- ROBIN WOOD
- Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
- Salva la Selva
- School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
- Serendipalm Company Limited
- Sherpa , The Netherlands
- SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
- The Corner House, UK
  Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
- TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
  University of Sussex, UK
- UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
- WESSA
  World Rainforest Movement
- Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana
Epidemics and rapacity of multinational companies in Liberia
Discussion Paper. The Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics. Release date: 12th March, 2022
Conclusion
https://twitter.com/CEP_LSE/status/1502238109677015044?s=20&t=CwBhOE-SLGkXtNxC9nXw5w
This paper provides novel granular evidence on the interaction between the Ebola epidemic, deforestation, and palm oil plantations in Liberia. The palm oil multinationals, exploiting the health crisis, stepped up deforestation to increase output. The effect on deforestation is more severe in areas inhabited by politically unrepresented ethnic groups, characterized by a reduction in tree coverage by 6.5%.
We also document an increase of more than 125% in the likelihood of
fire events within concessions during the epidemic. This suggests that not only did the palm oil companies foster deforestation, but further that they used forest fires to do so. This is particularly harmful to the environment, and the smoke and the haze may have severe health consequences, apart from being a source of carbon dioxide.
This deforestation was accompanied by a 150% increase in the amount of land dedicated to cultivation.
This exploitative behaviour was highly profitable for palm oil companies, with a 1428% increase in the value of Liberian palm oil’s exports compared with the pre-Ebola period. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for local people or the local environment.
Read more
Greenwashing
The RSPO prevents and stops deforestation and fires on palm oil plantations by its members

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https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1146706666508955648?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355496891673415680?s=20
https://twitter.com/SimamoraDupito/status/1442410921519771649?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355827449397915651?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1461673435965313025

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1173741858171830272?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1447297851038605315?s=20
https://twitter.com/HersheyCompany/status/1447916947669192709?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169538449680031745?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1385138817309548544?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169532824375955456?s=20
https://twitter.com/Nestle/status/1404782473221967872?s=20

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Greenwashing
Lies and denialism in the media about the environmental impact of palm oil

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Research into media coverage of the environmental impact of palm oil in Indonesia shows they deny it’s causing ecocide

We found that media reporting of the denialist narrative is more prevalent than that of the peer-reviewed science consensus-view that palm oil plantations on tropical peat could cause excessive greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the risk of fires.
Our article alerts to the continuation of unsustainable practices as justified by the media to the public, and that the prevalence of these denialist narratives constitute a significant obstacle in resolving pressing issues such as transboundary haze, biodiversity loss, and land-use change related greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia.
Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1448232875535388678?s=20

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1436104523756433434?s=20
Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s administration has achieved four consecutive years of deforestation declines via land-use reforms and re-establishing a logging moratorium. This significant work culminated in 2020 when the country gained its lowest deforestation rates since monitoring began, reaching a 75% drop year-over-year.
Luana Stephen, Intelligent Living, September 1, 2021.

Reality: RSPO “Sustainable” Palm Oil Does Not Stop or Prevent Deforestation

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Tweet from Bart Van Assen, former lead auditor for the RSPO and HCV admitting that the main goal of the RSPO, FSC and other certification initiatives is not to prevent deforestation. (Bart has formerly used @palmoiltruther on Twitter but now changes between @Forest4Apes or @Apes4Forests depending on times when he attempts to conceal his identity).

Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

Certification had no causal impact on forest loss in peatlands or active fire detection rates.
Kimberly M. Carlson, Robert Heilmayr, Holly K. Gibbs, Praveen Noojipady et al. Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia, PNAS January 2, 2018 115 (1) 121-126 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114

No significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.
Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

The Neue Zuercher Zeitung used several cases to highlight where slash-and-burn techniques continue on RSPO-certified land, and where new plantations are threatening important ecosystems. These examples are representative of the huge gap between the need for environmental protection and the ever-increasing global demand for palm oil.
Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (May 2021) (In English)

Swiss multinational Nestlé received hundreds of thousands of alerts of forest clearing near its palm oil suppliers in 2019 via satellite monitoring.
Nestlé identified over 1,000 cases of deforestation per day in palm oil areas. SwissInfo (2020).

https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

Fire outbreaks in and around palm oil concessions (often starting from slash-and-burn fires to clear land for plantations).

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Thousands of fire alerts were recorded by Chain Reaction Research on RSPO member palm oil plantations
The top ten palm oil traders and refiners in Indonesia all had thousands of alerts for fires in their palm oil plantations:
- ADM
- Unilever
- Neste
- Cargill
- Bunge
- Wilmar
- Olam
- AAK
all of these companies are RSPO members

https://youtu.be/jdYT_g9ENxw?t=1346
A still from the Chain Reaction Research video: Which Companies are Expoosed to Deforestation Driven Fires in their Supply Chains
A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)
Read more
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Explore the series
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight greenwashing and deforestation by using your wallet as a weapon!
Find out more

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Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing
1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil
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#7 #advertising #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #brandBoycotts #branding #consumerRights #consumers #FightgreenwashingTweet #fire #greenwashing #OrangutanLandTrust #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #sentinel2
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Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] · 2021-10-10 · 21:45 UTC
Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying

Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth

Greenwashing by Lying
Blatant lies that appear in advertising or on social media. The lie could be falsifying support from respected authorities or individuals on environmental issues. Or the lie could be research with ambiguous results being made to sound positive. Sometimes, it is a clear and obvious lie.

Tweet this…
#Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying: Telling outright lies to #consumers until they are believed as truth. #palmoil lobbyists and global food companies lie about ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing
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Greenwashing: Endangered species
Reality: Endangered species

Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers
Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers
An open letter from Friends of the Earth and 100 Human Rights NGOs

Greenwashing: Deforestation and fire
Greenwashing: Lies and denialism in the media
Reality: Deforestation and fire

Explore the Series

Further reading: greenwashing and deceptive marketing

Say thanks for this guide by donating to my Ko-Fi

Greenwashing:
RSPO certification protects endangered species living in tropical rainforests

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RSPO marketing materials make grand claims that are not supported by any evidence at all.
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1660543540378697729?s=20

The team from Chester Zoo encourage children to save endangered species by buying sustainable palm oil.
Lyrics: ‘We have a choice – and it’s sustainable palm oil’

https://youtu.be/1jHNiRJ9OgI

Michelle Desilets, Manager of Orangutan Land Trust explains in this video that ‘deforestation is prohibited by the RSPO’.
What she does not mention is that none of the RSPO’s members have actually stopped deforestation in the 17 years since it began.

https://youtu.be/cJLP0SzoUdY

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https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1200683887497756672?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/894844642327502848?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1281240693285875712?s=20

https://twitter.com/griffjane/status/1301407429373165568?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1305809870281732096?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1246908272931753988?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1002860521215942656?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1414519913457270794?s=20
https://youtu.be/HkcZrJiudRc

Reality: “Sustainable” Palm Oil does not stop biodiversity loss

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“In the plantation, the calls of birds and beasts are replaced by a deathly silence, which is particularly eerie in the glaring heat of the midday sun. Sounds of life are replaced by sounds of death—roaring bull-dozers, gnawing chainsaws, the crackle of illegal burning, and the rumble of overloaded trucks carrying oil palm fruit and timber.”.
~ Dr Sophie Chao. In the Shadow of the Palms, pp. 45.

Currently certified grower supply bases and concessions in Sumatra and Borneo are located in large mammal’s habitat and in areas that were biodiverse tropical forests less than 30 years ago. We suggest that certification schemes claim for the “sustainable” production of palm oil just because they neglect a very recent past of deforestation and habitat degradation.
Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Alena Velichevskaya, Certified “sustainable” palm oil took the place of endangered Bornean and Sumatran large mammals habitat and tropical forests in the last 30 years, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 742, 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140712.

Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.
Emily B. Fitzherbert, Matthew J. Struebig, Alexandra Morel, Finn Danielsen, Carsten A. Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.
We found that certified plantation concessions that are committed to deforestation-free production are limited in their ability to prevent further biodiversity loss, due to the past conversion of forest habitats to plantations. Concession holders can improve forest habitats through corridor development and other measures, which would mitigate, but not prevent, further biodiversity loss.

Hideyuki Kubo, Arief Darmawan, Hendarto, André Derek Mader,
The effect of agricultural certification schemes on biodiversity loss in the tropics,
Biological Conservation, Volume 261, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109243.
We uncover the global patterns of oil palm expansion and find that global oil palm expansion has a very high degree of potential conflict with local biodiversity. Globally, 99.9% of oil palm plantations overlapped with Conservation Priority Zones (CPZs) and oil palm plantations encroached on 231 protected areas.
Le Yu, Yue Cao, Yuqi Cheng, Qiang Zhao, Yidi Xu, Kasturi Kanniah, Hui Lu, Rui Yang & Peng Gong (2022) A study of the serious conflicts between oil palm expansion and biodiversity conservation using high-resolution remote sensing, Remote Sensing Letters, DOI: 10.1080/2150704X.2022.2063701

https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20
We found a high overlap between areas of high oil palm suitability and areas of high conservation priority for primates. Overall, we found only a few small areas where oil palm could be cultivated in Africa with a low impact on primates (3.3 Mha, including all areas suitable for oil palm). These results warn that, consistent with the dramatic effects of palm oil cultivation on biodiversity in Southeast Asia, reconciling a large-scale development of oil palm in Africa with primate conservation will be a great challenge.
Small room for compromise between oil palm cultivation and primate conservation in Africa
Giovanni Strona, Simon D. Stringer, Ghislain Vieilledent, et. al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018), 115 (35) 8811-8816; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1804775115
As of 2019, more than 60% of the palm oil plantations in the study area were in Key Biodiversity Areas. KBAs are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. RSPO-certified plantations, comprising 63% of the total cultivated area assessed, did not produce a statistically significant reduction in deforestation and appear to be ineffective at reducing encroachment into ecologically sensitive areas in Guatemala.
Calli P. VanderWilde, Joshua P. Newell, Dimitrios Gounaridis, Benjamin P. Goldstein,
Deforestation, certification, and transnational palm oil supply chains: Linking Guatemala to global consumer markets, Journal of Environmental Management,
Volume 344, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118505

There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.
Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032, 2018.

“The big message is that oil palm is bad for biodiversity, in every sense of the word — even when compared to damaged rainforests that are regenerating after earlier logging or clearing.”
Professor Bill Laurance, James Cook University. ‘Palm oil plantations are bad for wildlife great and small’. The Conversation.

We analyse consequences of the globally important land-use transformation from tropical forests to oil palm plantations. Species diversity, density and biomass of invertebrate communities suffer at least 45% decreases from rainforest to oil palm.
Barnes, A., Jochum, M., Mumme, S. et al. Consequences of tropical land use for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nat Commun 5, 5351 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6351
Palm oil also poses a global risk for zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19
Taking into account the human population growth, we find that the increases in outbreaks of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases from 1990 to 2016 are linked with deforestation, mostly in tropical countries, and with reforestation, mostly in temperate countries. We also find that outbreaks of vector-borne diseases are associated with the increase in areas of palm oil plantations.
Outbreaks of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases Are Associated With Changes in Forest Cover and Oil Palm Expansion at Global Scale
(2021) Morand Serge, Lajaunie Claire, Frontiers in Veterinary Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2021.661063
DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.661063

Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

Fire started within orangutan habitats and destroyed them – this was not investigated by the RSPO

The team used map data from @globalforests and @UMBaltimore, #sentinel2 images from @esa, concession boundaries from @RSPOtweets and #fire hotspot data (#VIIRS) from @NASAEarth.
Originally tweeted by Adina Renner (@adinarenner) on May 10, 2021.
Read more

Asia: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Africa: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Papua New Guinea & West Papua: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

South America: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Greenwashing
‘Europeans have destroyed their forests for agriculture, so why can’t we do the same in the tropics? Stopping our economic development is hypocrisy and colonialism’
‘Sustainable palm oil helps the livelihood of workers on RSPO certified palm oil plantations.‘

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Research analysing media and social media messages around palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia finds that palm oil lobbyists use an ‘Us’ Versus ‘Them’ narrative, in other words, they invoke colonial racism to justify continued deforestation and ecocide.
Four mutually complementary narratives were used by Indonesian and Malaysian media to construe denialism These denialist narratives appeal to a nationalist sentiment of ‘us’ – palm oil-producing developing countries – and ‘them’ – western developed countries producing research critical of the industry.
Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

We had the luck to be born into a developed country, I believe we need to acknowledge the right of lesser-developed countries to develop. We simply have no right to tell a country like Indonesia to forgo economic development, but we can help to steer that development in a sustainable direction.
Michelle Desilets, Director, Orangutan Land Trust. The Switch Report, 2014
RSPO advertisement from social media, with a focus on promoting better workers rights under certified palm oil. An RSPO advertisement targeting the Indian market in 2021 by the RSPO showing supposed benefits for palm oil workers.
https://youtu.be/2ugIE0UJYc4

Social media messaging by palm oil lobbyists reflects a focus on ‘Us’: poor, palm oil producing nations, versus ‘Them’: the ‘greedy, already developed West.

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1295253527191642113?s=20
https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1420662530863550464?s=20

https://twitter.com/palm_eu/status/1440943483410386945?s=20
https://twitter.com/emeijaard/status/1191961097294757889?s=20

https://twitter.com/palmoilmonitor/status/1445795527560515587?s=20
https://twitter.com/CIFOR/status/1016759321701552133?s=20

Reality: Human rights abuses and landgrabbing are ongoing for “sustainable” palm oil

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University of Michigan 2023 study: RSPO plantations do not reduce deforestation in Guatemala
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A 2021 Investigation by Global Witness found that palm oil companies in Papua New Guinea are alleged to have been involved in corruption, child labour, tax evasion, deforestation, worker deaths and paying police to assault villagers.
The palm oil from these mills in Papua New Guinea is used by RSPO members Colgate-Palmolive, Kelloggs, General Mills, Nestle, Hersheys, Danone, PZ Cussons – finds its way into our weekly supermarket shop.
Read report
https://twitter.com/earthsight/status/1192827396451438592?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

https://twitter.com/Rainforest_RIN/status/1541428640491212801?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry finds extensive greenwashing of human rights abuses
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Certified goods improve the price and income of sale for certified goods, but they do not advance equity, income or assets for workers

We identified 64 conflicts that involved RSPO member companies, of which 17 prompted communities to convey their grievances to the RSPO’s conflict resolution mechanism…We conclude that—on all counts—the conflict resolution mechanism is biased in favor of companies. The result of these biases is that the actual capacity of the RSPO’s mechanism to provide a meaningful remedy for rural communities’ grievances remains very limited. This unequal access to justice sustains conflicts between companies and communities over land.
Afrizal, A., Hospes, O., Berenschot, W. et al. Unequal access to justice: an evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agric Hum Values 40, 291–304 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z

We find positive effects on prices and income from sale of certified products. However, we find no change in overall household income and assets for workers. The wages for workers are not higher in certified production.
Oya, C., Schaefer, F. & Skalidou, D. The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: a systematic review. World Dev. 112, 282–312 (2018).

We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.
Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

Oil palm expansion is shaped by wider political economies and development policies.
Market-based development policies have favored large-scale over smallholder production.
Benefits from oil palm are unevenly distributed across rural population.
Violence across forest frontiers has fueled conflicts linked to oil palm.
Weak forest governance has led to significant deforestation by industrial plantations.
A. Castellanos-Navarrete, F. de Castro, P. Pacheco,
The impact of oil palm on rural livelihoods and tropical forest landscapes in Latin America, Journal of Rural Studies,
Volume 81, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.047.
Deforestation by fire for palm oilDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography After a forest fire in Sumatra – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to retail brands
This article argues that the form of sustainability offered by certification schemes such as the RSPO fetishes the commodity palm oil in order to assuage critical consumer initiatives in the North. This technical-managerial solution is part of a larger project: the “post-political” climate politics regime (Swyngedouw) that attempts to “green” the status quo.
Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228
- The palm oil industry is neither sustainable nor a viable development model.
- Certification represents a technical fix which neglects underlying dynamics of power, class, gender and accumulation.
- The fetishised commodity ‘certified sustainable palm oil’ has no impact on the regional scale of expansion.
- Working conditions in the plantations and mills entrench social inequality and poverty.
From: Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228
Deforestation in West PapuaDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography
Deforestation for palm oil: the impact of increased heat on human health
477 villages throughout Kalimantan were surveyed about forest health benefits.
The most frequent answer was maintenance of cool local temperatures.
Perceptions were driven by deforestation and local temperature.
Results point to possible threat of heat impacts on health.
Policy should incorporate human health when considering land use.

Nicholas H. Wolff, Yuta J. Masuda, Erik Meijaard, Jessie A. Wells, Edward T. Game,
Impacts of tropical deforestation on local temperature and human well-being perceptions, Global Environmental Change, Volume 52, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.004.

The False Promise of Certification, Changing Markets (2018)

“While RSPO is often referred to as the best scheme in the sector, it
has several shortcomings; most notably, it allows the conversion of secondary forests and the draining
of peatlands, it has not prevented human rights violations and it does not require GHG emissions
reductions.
“In light of this, we call for action to reduce demand for palm oil, such as
ditching biofuels targets, as well as channelling new plantations into non-forested areas by putting in
place a strong moratorium on palm oil expansion to forests and peatlands. Most schemes in this sector
should be abolished in light of their failures on multiple fronts.”
— The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets
The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets Download report
MSI’s (Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives including the RSPO and Rainforest Alliance) are inadequate in detecting human rights abuses and uphold standards

“MSIs put considerable emphasis on the standards that they set, but have not developed effective mechanisms for detecting abuses, enforcing compliance with those standards, or transparently disclosing levels of compliance. Despite the emergence of models that enable rights holders to legally enforce MSIs’ standards or to be actively engaged in monitoring companies for abuses, MSIs have not adopted them. By focusing on setting standards without adequately ensuring if members are following those standards, MSIs risk providing companies and governments with powerful reputational benefits despite the persistence of rights abuses.”
~ MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020)
MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020) Download report
The difficulty of addressing and resolving oil palm conflicts is due not only to the inadequacies of Indonesia’s legal framework regarding land and plantations but also to the way in which Indonesia’s informalized state institutions foster collusion between local power holders and palm oil companies. This collusion enables companies to evade regulation, suppress community protests and avoid engaging in constructive efforts to resolve conflicts. Furthermore, this collusion has made the available conflict resolution mechanisms largely ineffective.
Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002

Associated Press 2020 Report: Beauty Brands (RSPO members) L’Oreal, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson& Johnson, Unilever linked to rape on palm oil plantations

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1330163571951611906?s=20
https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1329701899180924928?s=20
Associated Press Investigation (2020) finds wide-spread rape, human rights abuses and slavery on palm oil plantations for well known brands: Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Avon, Colgate Palmolive Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words
“The expansion of oil palm plantations has created many detrimental environmental impacts, including deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land conflicts, labour conflicts, and social conflicts around plantations.
“Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established.
“In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic.”
— Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer, In His Own Words.

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Global corporates are responsible for the majority of palm oil production and deforestation risk, not smallholder farmers

The three biggest palm oil traders: Sinar Mas, Wilmar and Musim Mas – are founding members of the RSPO. They have the biggest deforestation risk of all other palm oil companies combined. Deforestation goes against the RSPO’s rules – yet these big companies do not lose their RSPO membership or face punishment.
Source: Insights: Indonesian Palm Oil. Trase Earth (2018)
Search the Environmental Justice Atlas for specific companies and their human rights abuses and land-grabbing record
Search here
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RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector
Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018
Read original letter
Letter
During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.
RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.
They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:
1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.
Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.
Violence is intrinsic to this model:
- violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
- companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
- sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
- Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
- working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
- exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
- depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.
RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.
The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.
None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.
Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.
On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.
RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.
For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.
RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.
Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.
RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.
This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.
Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.
Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.
The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.
What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.
Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.
For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
As immediate steps, governments need to:
- Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
- Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
- Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
- Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.
Signatures
- Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
- ActionAid, France
- AGAPAN
  Amics arbres
- Arbres amics
- Amis de la Terre France
- ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
- Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
  Asociación Gaia El Salvador
- Association Congo Actif, Paris
- Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
- Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
- BASE IS
- Bézu St Eloi
- Boxberg OT Uhyst
- Bread for all
- Bruno Manser Fund
- CADDECAE, Ecuador
- Campaign to STOP GE Trees
- CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
- Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
- CESTA – FOE El Salvador
- CETRI – Centre tricontinental
- Climate Change Kenya
- Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
- Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
- Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
- Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
- Consumers Association of Penang
- Corporate Europe Observatory
- Cuttington University
- Down to Earth Consult
- El Campello
- Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
- Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
- FASE ES , Brazil
- Fédération romande des consommateurs
- FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
- Focus on the Global South
- Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
- Friends of the Earth Ghana
- Friends of the Earth International
- GE Free NZ, New Zealand
- Global Alliance against REDD
- Global Justice Ecology Project
- Global Info
- Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
- GRAIN
- Green Development Advocates (GDA)
- CameroonGreystones, Ireland
- Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
  Grupo ETC
- Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
- Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
- Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
- Justica Ambiental
- Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
- Kempityari
- Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
- Les gens du partage
- LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
- Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
- Maiouri nature, Guyane
- Mangrove Action Project
- Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
- Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
- Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
- Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
- New Wind Association from Finland
- NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
- Oakland Institute
- OFRANEH, Honduras
- Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
- ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
- OPIROMA, Brazil
- Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
- Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
- PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
- Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
- Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
- Rainforest Foundation UK
- Rainforest Relief
- ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
- RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
- Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
- REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
- Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
- ROBIN WOOD
- Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
- Salva la Selva
- School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
- Serendipalm Company Limited
- Sherpa , The Netherlands
- SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
- The Corner House, UK
  Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
- TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
  University of Sussex, UK
- UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
- WESSA
  World Rainforest Movement
- Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana
Epidemics and rapacity of multinational companies in Liberia
Discussion Paper. The Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics. Release date: 12th March, 2022
Conclusion
https://twitter.com/CEP_LSE/status/1502238109677015044?s=20&t=CwBhOE-SLGkXtNxC9nXw5w
This paper provides novel granular evidence on the interaction between the Ebola epidemic, deforestation, and palm oil plantations in Liberia. The palm oil multinationals, exploiting the health crisis, stepped up deforestation to increase output. The effect on deforestation is more severe in areas inhabited by politically unrepresented ethnic groups, characterized by a reduction in tree coverage by 6.5%.
We also document an increase of more than 125% in the likelihood of
fire events within concessions during the epidemic. This suggests that not only did the palm oil companies foster deforestation, but further that they used forest fires to do so. This is particularly harmful to the environment, and the smoke and the haze may have severe health consequences, apart from being a source of carbon dioxide.
This deforestation was accompanied by a 150% increase in the amount of land dedicated to cultivation.
This exploitative behaviour was highly profitable for palm oil companies, with a 1428% increase in the value of Liberian palm oil’s exports compared with the pre-Ebola period. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for local people or the local environment.
Read more
Greenwashing
The RSPO prevents and stops deforestation and fires on palm oil plantations by its members

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https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1146706666508955648?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355496891673415680?s=20
https://twitter.com/SimamoraDupito/status/1442410921519771649?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355827449397915651?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1461673435965313025

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1173741858171830272?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1447297851038605315?s=20
https://twitter.com/HersheyCompany/status/1447916947669192709?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169538449680031745?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1385138817309548544?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169532824375955456?s=20
https://twitter.com/Nestle/status/1404782473221967872?s=20

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Greenwashing
Lies and denialism in the media about the environmental impact of palm oil

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Research into media coverage of the environmental impact of palm oil in Indonesia shows they deny it’s causing ecocide

We found that media reporting of the denialist narrative is more prevalent than that of the peer-reviewed science consensus-view that palm oil plantations on tropical peat could cause excessive greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the risk of fires.
Our article alerts to the continuation of unsustainable practices as justified by the media to the public, and that the prevalence of these denialist narratives constitute a significant obstacle in resolving pressing issues such as transboundary haze, biodiversity loss, and land-use change related greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia.
Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1448232875535388678?s=20

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1436104523756433434?s=20
Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s administration has achieved four consecutive years of deforestation declines via land-use reforms and re-establishing a logging moratorium. This significant work culminated in 2020 when the country gained its lowest deforestation rates since monitoring began, reaching a 75% drop year-over-year.
Luana Stephen, Intelligent Living, September 1, 2021.

Reality: RSPO “Sustainable” Palm Oil Does Not Stop or Prevent Deforestation

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Tweet from Bart Van Assen, former lead auditor for the RSPO and HCV admitting that the main goal of the RSPO, FSC and other certification initiatives is not to prevent deforestation. (Bart has formerly used @palmoiltruther on Twitter but now changes between @Forest4Apes or @Apes4Forests depending on times when he attempts to conceal his identity).

Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

Certification had no causal impact on forest loss in peatlands or active fire detection rates.
Kimberly M. Carlson, Robert Heilmayr, Holly K. Gibbs, Praveen Noojipady et al. Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia, PNAS January 2, 2018 115 (1) 121-126 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114

No significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.
Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

The Neue Zuercher Zeitung used several cases to highlight where slash-and-burn techniques continue on RSPO-certified land, and where new plantations are threatening important ecosystems. These examples are representative of the huge gap between the need for environmental protection and the ever-increasing global demand for palm oil.
Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (May 2021) (In English)

Swiss multinational Nestlé received hundreds of thousands of alerts of forest clearing near its palm oil suppliers in 2019 via satellite monitoring.
Nestlé identified over 1,000 cases of deforestation per day in palm oil areas. SwissInfo (2020).

https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

Fire outbreaks in and around palm oil concessions (often starting from slash-and-burn fires to clear land for plantations).

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Thousands of fire alerts were recorded by Chain Reaction Research on RSPO member palm oil plantations
The top ten palm oil traders and refiners in Indonesia all had thousands of alerts for fires in their palm oil plantations:
- ADM
- Unilever
- Neste
- Cargill
- Bunge
- Wilmar
- Olam
- AAK
all of these companies are RSPO members

https://youtu.be/jdYT_g9ENxw?t=1346
A still from the Chain Reaction Research video: Which Companies are Expoosed to Deforestation Driven Fires in their Supply Chains
A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)
Read more
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Explore the series
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight greenwashing and deforestation by using your wallet as a weapon!
Find out more

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Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing
1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil
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#7 #advertising #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #brandBoycotts #branding #consumerRights #consumers #FightgreenwashingTweet #fire #greenwashing #OrangutanLandTrust #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #sentinel2
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Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] · 2021-10-10 · 21:45 UTC
Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying

Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth

Greenwashing by Lying
Blatant lies that appear in advertising or on social media. The lie could be falsifying support from respected authorities or individuals on environmental issues. Or the lie could be research with ambiguous results being made to sound positive. Sometimes, it is a clear and obvious lie.

Tweet this…
#Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying: Telling outright lies to #consumers until they are believed as truth. #palmoil lobbyists and global food companies lie about ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing
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Jump to section

Greenwashing: Endangered species
Reality: Endangered species

Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers
Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers
An open letter from Friends of the Earth and 100 Human Rights NGOs

Greenwashing: Deforestation and fire
Greenwashing: Lies and denialism in the media
Reality: Deforestation and fire

Explore the Series

Further reading: greenwashing and deceptive marketing

Say thanks for this guide by donating to my Ko-Fi

Greenwashing:
RSPO certification protects endangered species living in tropical rainforests

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RSPO marketing materials make grand claims that are not supported by any evidence at all.
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1660543540378697729?s=20

The team from Chester Zoo encourage children to save endangered species by buying sustainable palm oil.
Lyrics: ‘We have a choice – and it’s sustainable palm oil’

https://youtu.be/1jHNiRJ9OgI

Michelle Desilets, Manager of Orangutan Land Trust explains in this video that ‘deforestation is prohibited by the RSPO’.
What she does not mention is that none of the RSPO’s members have actually stopped deforestation in the 17 years since it began.

https://youtu.be/cJLP0SzoUdY

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https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1200683887497756672?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/894844642327502848?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1281240693285875712?s=20

https://twitter.com/griffjane/status/1301407429373165568?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1305809870281732096?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1246908272931753988?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1002860521215942656?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1414519913457270794?s=20
https://youtu.be/HkcZrJiudRc

Reality: “Sustainable” Palm Oil does not stop biodiversity loss

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“In the plantation, the calls of birds and beasts are replaced by a deathly silence, which is particularly eerie in the glaring heat of the midday sun. Sounds of life are replaced by sounds of death—roaring bull-dozers, gnawing chainsaws, the crackle of illegal burning, and the rumble of overloaded trucks carrying oil palm fruit and timber.”.
~ Dr Sophie Chao. In the Shadow of the Palms, pp. 45.

Currently certified grower supply bases and concessions in Sumatra and Borneo are located in large mammal’s habitat and in areas that were biodiverse tropical forests less than 30 years ago. We suggest that certification schemes claim for the “sustainable” production of palm oil just because they neglect a very recent past of deforestation and habitat degradation.
Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Alena Velichevskaya, Certified “sustainable” palm oil took the place of endangered Bornean and Sumatran large mammals habitat and tropical forests in the last 30 years, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 742, 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140712.

Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.
Emily B. Fitzherbert, Matthew J. Struebig, Alexandra Morel, Finn Danielsen, Carsten A. Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.
We found that certified plantation concessions that are committed to deforestation-free production are limited in their ability to prevent further biodiversity loss, due to the past conversion of forest habitats to plantations. Concession holders can improve forest habitats through corridor development and other measures, which would mitigate, but not prevent, further biodiversity loss.

Hideyuki Kubo, Arief Darmawan, Hendarto, André Derek Mader,
The effect of agricultural certification schemes on biodiversity loss in the tropics,
Biological Conservation, Volume 261, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109243.
We uncover the global patterns of oil palm expansion and find that global oil palm expansion has a very high degree of potential conflict with local biodiversity. Globally, 99.9% of oil palm plantations overlapped with Conservation Priority Zones (CPZs) and oil palm plantations encroached on 231 protected areas.
Le Yu, Yue Cao, Yuqi Cheng, Qiang Zhao, Yidi Xu, Kasturi Kanniah, Hui Lu, Rui Yang & Peng Gong (2022) A study of the serious conflicts between oil palm expansion and biodiversity conservation using high-resolution remote sensing, Remote Sensing Letters, DOI: 10.1080/2150704X.2022.2063701

https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20
We found a high overlap between areas of high oil palm suitability and areas of high conservation priority for primates. Overall, we found only a few small areas where oil palm could be cultivated in Africa with a low impact on primates (3.3 Mha, including all areas suitable for oil palm). These results warn that, consistent with the dramatic effects of palm oil cultivation on biodiversity in Southeast Asia, reconciling a large-scale development of oil palm in Africa with primate conservation will be a great challenge.
Small room for compromise between oil palm cultivation and primate conservation in Africa
Giovanni Strona, Simon D. Stringer, Ghislain Vieilledent, et. al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018), 115 (35) 8811-8816; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1804775115
As of 2019, more than 60% of the palm oil plantations in the study area were in Key Biodiversity Areas. KBAs are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. RSPO-certified plantations, comprising 63% of the total cultivated area assessed, did not produce a statistically significant reduction in deforestation and appear to be ineffective at reducing encroachment into ecologically sensitive areas in Guatemala.
Calli P. VanderWilde, Joshua P. Newell, Dimitrios Gounaridis, Benjamin P. Goldstein,
Deforestation, certification, and transnational palm oil supply chains: Linking Guatemala to global consumer markets, Journal of Environmental Management,
Volume 344, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118505

There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.
Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032, 2018.

“The big message is that oil palm is bad for biodiversity, in every sense of the word — even when compared to damaged rainforests that are regenerating after earlier logging or clearing.”
Professor Bill Laurance, James Cook University. ‘Palm oil plantations are bad for wildlife great and small’. The Conversation.

We analyse consequences of the globally important land-use transformation from tropical forests to oil palm plantations. Species diversity, density and biomass of invertebrate communities suffer at least 45% decreases from rainforest to oil palm.
Barnes, A., Jochum, M., Mumme, S. et al. Consequences of tropical land use for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nat Commun 5, 5351 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6351
Palm oil also poses a global risk for zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19
Taking into account the human population growth, we find that the increases in outbreaks of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases from 1990 to 2016 are linked with deforestation, mostly in tropical countries, and with reforestation, mostly in temperate countries. We also find that outbreaks of vector-borne diseases are associated with the increase in areas of palm oil plantations.
Outbreaks of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases Are Associated With Changes in Forest Cover and Oil Palm Expansion at Global Scale
(2021) Morand Serge, Lajaunie Claire, Frontiers in Veterinary Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2021.661063
DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.661063

Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

Fire started within orangutan habitats and destroyed them – this was not investigated by the RSPO

The team used map data from @globalforests and @UMBaltimore, #sentinel2 images from @esa, concession boundaries from @RSPOtweets and #fire hotspot data (#VIIRS) from @NASAEarth.
Originally tweeted by Adina Renner (@adinarenner) on May 10, 2021.
Read more

Asia: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Africa: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Papua New Guinea & West Papua: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

South America: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Greenwashing
‘Europeans have destroyed their forests for agriculture, so why can’t we do the same in the tropics? Stopping our economic development is hypocrisy and colonialism’
‘Sustainable palm oil helps the livelihood of workers on RSPO certified palm oil plantations.‘

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Research analysing media and social media messages around palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia finds that palm oil lobbyists use an ‘Us’ Versus ‘Them’ narrative, in other words, they invoke colonial racism to justify continued deforestation and ecocide.
Four mutually complementary narratives were used by Indonesian and Malaysian media to construe denialism These denialist narratives appeal to a nationalist sentiment of ‘us’ – palm oil-producing developing countries – and ‘them’ – western developed countries producing research critical of the industry.
Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

We had the luck to be born into a developed country, I believe we need to acknowledge the right of lesser-developed countries to develop. We simply have no right to tell a country like Indonesia to forgo economic development, but we can help to steer that development in a sustainable direction.
Michelle Desilets, Director, Orangutan Land Trust. The Switch Report, 2014
RSPO advertisement from social media, with a focus on promoting better workers rights under certified palm oil. An RSPO advertisement targeting the Indian market in 2021 by the RSPO showing supposed benefits for palm oil workers.
https://youtu.be/2ugIE0UJYc4

Social media messaging by palm oil lobbyists reflects a focus on ‘Us’: poor, palm oil producing nations, versus ‘Them’: the ‘greedy, already developed West.

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1295253527191642113?s=20
https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1420662530863550464?s=20

https://twitter.com/palm_eu/status/1440943483410386945?s=20
https://twitter.com/emeijaard/status/1191961097294757889?s=20

https://twitter.com/palmoilmonitor/status/1445795527560515587?s=20
https://twitter.com/CIFOR/status/1016759321701552133?s=20

Reality: Human rights abuses and landgrabbing are ongoing for “sustainable” palm oil

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University of Michigan 2023 study: RSPO plantations do not reduce deforestation in Guatemala
Read more
A 2021 Investigation by Global Witness found that palm oil companies in Papua New Guinea are alleged to have been involved in corruption, child labour, tax evasion, deforestation, worker deaths and paying police to assault villagers.
The palm oil from these mills in Papua New Guinea is used by RSPO members Colgate-Palmolive, Kelloggs, General Mills, Nestle, Hersheys, Danone, PZ Cussons – finds its way into our weekly supermarket shop.
Read report
https://twitter.com/earthsight/status/1192827396451438592?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

https://twitter.com/Rainforest_RIN/status/1541428640491212801?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry finds extensive greenwashing of human rights abuses
Read more
Certified goods improve the price and income of sale for certified goods, but they do not advance equity, income or assets for workers

We identified 64 conflicts that involved RSPO member companies, of which 17 prompted communities to convey their grievances to the RSPO’s conflict resolution mechanism…We conclude that—on all counts—the conflict resolution mechanism is biased in favor of companies. The result of these biases is that the actual capacity of the RSPO’s mechanism to provide a meaningful remedy for rural communities’ grievances remains very limited. This unequal access to justice sustains conflicts between companies and communities over land.
Afrizal, A., Hospes, O., Berenschot, W. et al. Unequal access to justice: an evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agric Hum Values 40, 291–304 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z

We find positive effects on prices and income from sale of certified products. However, we find no change in overall household income and assets for workers. The wages for workers are not higher in certified production.
Oya, C., Schaefer, F. & Skalidou, D. The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: a systematic review. World Dev. 112, 282–312 (2018).

We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.
Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

Oil palm expansion is shaped by wider political economies and development policies.
Market-based development policies have favored large-scale over smallholder production.
Benefits from oil palm are unevenly distributed across rural population.
Violence across forest frontiers has fueled conflicts linked to oil palm.
Weak forest governance has led to significant deforestation by industrial plantations.
A. Castellanos-Navarrete, F. de Castro, P. Pacheco,
The impact of oil palm on rural livelihoods and tropical forest landscapes in Latin America, Journal of Rural Studies,
Volume 81, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.047.
Deforestation by fire for palm oilDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography After a forest fire in Sumatra – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to retail brands
This article argues that the form of sustainability offered by certification schemes such as the RSPO fetishes the commodity palm oil in order to assuage critical consumer initiatives in the North. This technical-managerial solution is part of a larger project: the “post-political” climate politics regime (Swyngedouw) that attempts to “green” the status quo.
Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228
- The palm oil industry is neither sustainable nor a viable development model.
- Certification represents a technical fix which neglects underlying dynamics of power, class, gender and accumulation.
- The fetishised commodity ‘certified sustainable palm oil’ has no impact on the regional scale of expansion.
- Working conditions in the plantations and mills entrench social inequality and poverty.
From: Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228
Deforestation in West PapuaDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography
Deforestation for palm oil: the impact of increased heat on human health
477 villages throughout Kalimantan were surveyed about forest health benefits.
The most frequent answer was maintenance of cool local temperatures.
Perceptions were driven by deforestation and local temperature.
Results point to possible threat of heat impacts on health.
Policy should incorporate human health when considering land use.

Nicholas H. Wolff, Yuta J. Masuda, Erik Meijaard, Jessie A. Wells, Edward T. Game,
Impacts of tropical deforestation on local temperature and human well-being perceptions, Global Environmental Change, Volume 52, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.004.

The False Promise of Certification, Changing Markets (2018)

“While RSPO is often referred to as the best scheme in the sector, it
has several shortcomings; most notably, it allows the conversion of secondary forests and the draining
of peatlands, it has not prevented human rights violations and it does not require GHG emissions
reductions.
“In light of this, we call for action to reduce demand for palm oil, such as
ditching biofuels targets, as well as channelling new plantations into non-forested areas by putting in
place a strong moratorium on palm oil expansion to forests and peatlands. Most schemes in this sector
should be abolished in light of their failures on multiple fronts.”
— The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets
The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets Download report
MSI’s (Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives including the RSPO and Rainforest Alliance) are inadequate in detecting human rights abuses and uphold standards

“MSIs put considerable emphasis on the standards that they set, but have not developed effective mechanisms for detecting abuses, enforcing compliance with those standards, or transparently disclosing levels of compliance. Despite the emergence of models that enable rights holders to legally enforce MSIs’ standards or to be actively engaged in monitoring companies for abuses, MSIs have not adopted them. By focusing on setting standards without adequately ensuring if members are following those standards, MSIs risk providing companies and governments with powerful reputational benefits despite the persistence of rights abuses.”
~ MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020)
MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020) Download report
The difficulty of addressing and resolving oil palm conflicts is due not only to the inadequacies of Indonesia’s legal framework regarding land and plantations but also to the way in which Indonesia’s informalized state institutions foster collusion between local power holders and palm oil companies. This collusion enables companies to evade regulation, suppress community protests and avoid engaging in constructive efforts to resolve conflicts. Furthermore, this collusion has made the available conflict resolution mechanisms largely ineffective.
Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002

Associated Press 2020 Report: Beauty Brands (RSPO members) L’Oreal, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson& Johnson, Unilever linked to rape on palm oil plantations

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1330163571951611906?s=20
https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1329701899180924928?s=20
Associated Press Investigation (2020) finds wide-spread rape, human rights abuses and slavery on palm oil plantations for well known brands: Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Avon, Colgate Palmolive Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words
“The expansion of oil palm plantations has created many detrimental environmental impacts, including deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land conflicts, labour conflicts, and social conflicts around plantations.
“Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established.
“In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic.”
— Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer, In His Own Words.

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Global corporates are responsible for the majority of palm oil production and deforestation risk, not smallholder farmers

The three biggest palm oil traders: Sinar Mas, Wilmar and Musim Mas – are founding members of the RSPO. They have the biggest deforestation risk of all other palm oil companies combined. Deforestation goes against the RSPO’s rules – yet these big companies do not lose their RSPO membership or face punishment.
Source: Insights: Indonesian Palm Oil. Trase Earth (2018)
Search the Environmental Justice Atlas for specific companies and their human rights abuses and land-grabbing record
Search here
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RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector
Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018
Read original letter
Letter
During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.
RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.
They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:
1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.
Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.
Violence is intrinsic to this model:
- violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
- companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
- sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
- Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
- working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
- exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
- depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.
RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.
The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.
None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.
Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.
On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.
RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.
For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.
RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.
Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.
RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.
This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.
Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.
Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.
The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.
What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.
Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.
For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
As immediate steps, governments need to:
- Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
- Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
- Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
- Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.
Signatures
- Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
- ActionAid, France
- AGAPAN
  Amics arbres
- Arbres amics
- Amis de la Terre France
- ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
- Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
  Asociación Gaia El Salvador
- Association Congo Actif, Paris
- Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
- Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
- BASE IS
- Bézu St Eloi
- Boxberg OT Uhyst
- Bread for all
- Bruno Manser Fund
- CADDECAE, Ecuador
- Campaign to STOP GE Trees
- CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
- Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
- CESTA – FOE El Salvador
- CETRI – Centre tricontinental
- Climate Change Kenya
- Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
- Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
- Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
- Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
- Consumers Association of Penang
- Corporate Europe Observatory
- Cuttington University
- Down to Earth Consult
- El Campello
- Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
- Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
- FASE ES , Brazil
- Fédération romande des consommateurs
- FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
- Focus on the Global South
- Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
- Friends of the Earth Ghana
- Friends of the Earth International
- GE Free NZ, New Zealand
- Global Alliance against REDD
- Global Justice Ecology Project
- Global Info
- Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
- GRAIN
- Green Development Advocates (GDA)
- CameroonGreystones, Ireland
- Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
  Grupo ETC
- Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
- Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
- Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
- Justica Ambiental
- Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
- Kempityari
- Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
- Les gens du partage
- LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
- Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
- Maiouri nature, Guyane
- Mangrove Action Project
- Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
- Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
- Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
- Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
- New Wind Association from Finland
- NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
- Oakland Institute
- OFRANEH, Honduras
- Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
- ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
- OPIROMA, Brazil
- Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
- Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
- PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
- Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
- Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
- Rainforest Foundation UK
- Rainforest Relief
- ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
- RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
- Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
- REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
- Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
- ROBIN WOOD
- Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
- Salva la Selva
- School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
- Serendipalm Company Limited
- Sherpa , The Netherlands
- SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
- The Corner House, UK
  Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
- TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
  University of Sussex, UK
- UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
- WESSA
  World Rainforest Movement
- Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana
Epidemics and rapacity of multinational companies in Liberia
Discussion Paper. The Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics. Release date: 12th March, 2022
Conclusion
https://twitter.com/CEP_LSE/status/1502238109677015044?s=20&t=CwBhOE-SLGkXtNxC9nXw5w
This paper provides novel granular evidence on the interaction between the Ebola epidemic, deforestation, and palm oil plantations in Liberia. The palm oil multinationals, exploiting the health crisis, stepped up deforestation to increase output. The effect on deforestation is more severe in areas inhabited by politically unrepresented ethnic groups, characterized by a reduction in tree coverage by 6.5%.
We also document an increase of more than 125% in the likelihood of
fire events within concessions during the epidemic. This suggests that not only did the palm oil companies foster deforestation, but further that they used forest fires to do so. This is particularly harmful to the environment, and the smoke and the haze may have severe health consequences, apart from being a source of carbon dioxide.
This deforestation was accompanied by a 150% increase in the amount of land dedicated to cultivation.
This exploitative behaviour was highly profitable for palm oil companies, with a 1428% increase in the value of Liberian palm oil’s exports compared with the pre-Ebola period. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for local people or the local environment.
Read more
Greenwashing
The RSPO prevents and stops deforestation and fires on palm oil plantations by its members

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https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1146706666508955648?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355496891673415680?s=20
https://twitter.com/SimamoraDupito/status/1442410921519771649?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355827449397915651?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1461673435965313025

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1173741858171830272?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1447297851038605315?s=20
https://twitter.com/HersheyCompany/status/1447916947669192709?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169538449680031745?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1385138817309548544?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169532824375955456?s=20
https://twitter.com/Nestle/status/1404782473221967872?s=20

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Greenwashing
Lies and denialism in the media about the environmental impact of palm oil

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Research into media coverage of the environmental impact of palm oil in Indonesia shows they deny it’s causing ecocide

We found that media reporting of the denialist narrative is more prevalent than that of the peer-reviewed science consensus-view that palm oil plantations on tropical peat could cause excessive greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the risk of fires.
Our article alerts to the continuation of unsustainable practices as justified by the media to the public, and that the prevalence of these denialist narratives constitute a significant obstacle in resolving pressing issues such as transboundary haze, biodiversity loss, and land-use change related greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia.
Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1448232875535388678?s=20

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1436104523756433434?s=20
Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s administration has achieved four consecutive years of deforestation declines via land-use reforms and re-establishing a logging moratorium. This significant work culminated in 2020 when the country gained its lowest deforestation rates since monitoring began, reaching a 75% drop year-over-year.
Luana Stephen, Intelligent Living, September 1, 2021.

Reality: RSPO “Sustainable” Palm Oil Does Not Stop or Prevent Deforestation

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Tweet from Bart Van Assen, former lead auditor for the RSPO and HCV admitting that the main goal of the RSPO, FSC and other certification initiatives is not to prevent deforestation. (Bart has formerly used @palmoiltruther on Twitter but now changes between @Forest4Apes or @Apes4Forests depending on times when he attempts to conceal his identity).

Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

Certification had no causal impact on forest loss in peatlands or active fire detection rates.
Kimberly M. Carlson, Robert Heilmayr, Holly K. Gibbs, Praveen Noojipady et al. Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia, PNAS January 2, 2018 115 (1) 121-126 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114

No significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.
Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

The Neue Zuercher Zeitung used several cases to highlight where slash-and-burn techniques continue on RSPO-certified land, and where new plantations are threatening important ecosystems. These examples are representative of the huge gap between the need for environmental protection and the ever-increasing global demand for palm oil.
Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (May 2021) (In English)

Swiss multinational Nestlé received hundreds of thousands of alerts of forest clearing near its palm oil suppliers in 2019 via satellite monitoring.
Nestlé identified over 1,000 cases of deforestation per day in palm oil areas. SwissInfo (2020).

https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

Fire outbreaks in and around palm oil concessions (often starting from slash-and-burn fires to clear land for plantations).

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Thousands of fire alerts were recorded by Chain Reaction Research on RSPO member palm oil plantations
The top ten palm oil traders and refiners in Indonesia all had thousands of alerts for fires in their palm oil plantations:
- ADM
- Unilever
- Neste
- Cargill
- Bunge
- Wilmar
- Olam
- AAK
all of these companies are RSPO members

https://youtu.be/jdYT_g9ENxw?t=1346
A still from the Chain Reaction Research video: Which Companies are Expoosed to Deforestation Driven Fires in their Supply Chains
A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)
Read more
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Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing
1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil
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#7 #advertising #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #brandBoycotts #branding #consumerRights #consumers #FightgreenwashingTweet #fire #greenwashing #OrangutanLandTrust #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #sentinel2
#sentinel2 #rspogreenwashing #rspo #palmoil #orangutanlandtrust #greenwashing
Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] · 2021-10-10 · 21:45 UTC
Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying

Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth

Greenwashing by Lying
Blatant lies that appear in advertising or on social media. The lie could be falsifying support from respected authorities or individuals on environmental issues. Or the lie could be research with ambiguous results being made to sound positive. Sometimes, it is a clear and obvious lie.

Tweet this…
#Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying: Telling outright lies to #consumers until they are believed as truth. #palmoil lobbyists and global food companies lie about ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing
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Greenwashing: Endangered species
Reality: Endangered species

Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers
Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers
An open letter from Friends of the Earth and 100 Human Rights NGOs

Greenwashing: Deforestation and fire
Greenwashing: Lies and denialism in the media
Reality: Deforestation and fire

Explore the Series

Further reading: greenwashing and deceptive marketing

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Greenwashing:
RSPO certification protects endangered species living in tropical rainforests

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RSPO marketing materials make grand claims that are not supported by any evidence at all.
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1660543540378697729?s=20

The team from Chester Zoo encourage children to save endangered species by buying sustainable palm oil.
Lyrics: ‘We have a choice – and it’s sustainable palm oil’

https://youtu.be/1jHNiRJ9OgI

Michelle Desilets, Manager of Orangutan Land Trust explains in this video that ‘deforestation is prohibited by the RSPO’.
What she does not mention is that none of the RSPO’s members have actually stopped deforestation in the 17 years since it began.

https://youtu.be/cJLP0SzoUdY

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https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1200683887497756672?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/894844642327502848?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1281240693285875712?s=20

https://twitter.com/griffjane/status/1301407429373165568?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1305809870281732096?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1246908272931753988?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1002860521215942656?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1414519913457270794?s=20
https://youtu.be/HkcZrJiudRc

Reality: “Sustainable” Palm Oil does not stop biodiversity loss

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“In the plantation, the calls of birds and beasts are replaced by a deathly silence, which is particularly eerie in the glaring heat of the midday sun. Sounds of life are replaced by sounds of death—roaring bull-dozers, gnawing chainsaws, the crackle of illegal burning, and the rumble of overloaded trucks carrying oil palm fruit and timber.”.
~ Dr Sophie Chao. In the Shadow of the Palms, pp. 45.

Currently certified grower supply bases and concessions in Sumatra and Borneo are located in large mammal’s habitat and in areas that were biodiverse tropical forests less than 30 years ago. We suggest that certification schemes claim for the “sustainable” production of palm oil just because they neglect a very recent past of deforestation and habitat degradation.
Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Alena Velichevskaya, Certified “sustainable” palm oil took the place of endangered Bornean and Sumatran large mammals habitat and tropical forests in the last 30 years, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 742, 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140712.

Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.
Emily B. Fitzherbert, Matthew J. Struebig, Alexandra Morel, Finn Danielsen, Carsten A. Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.
We found that certified plantation concessions that are committed to deforestation-free production are limited in their ability to prevent further biodiversity loss, due to the past conversion of forest habitats to plantations. Concession holders can improve forest habitats through corridor development and other measures, which would mitigate, but not prevent, further biodiversity loss.

Hideyuki Kubo, Arief Darmawan, Hendarto, André Derek Mader,
The effect of agricultural certification schemes on biodiversity loss in the tropics,
Biological Conservation, Volume 261, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109243.
We uncover the global patterns of oil palm expansion and find that global oil palm expansion has a very high degree of potential conflict with local biodiversity. Globally, 99.9% of oil palm plantations overlapped with Conservation Priority Zones (CPZs) and oil palm plantations encroached on 231 protected areas.
Le Yu, Yue Cao, Yuqi Cheng, Qiang Zhao, Yidi Xu, Kasturi Kanniah, Hui Lu, Rui Yang & Peng Gong (2022) A study of the serious conflicts between oil palm expansion and biodiversity conservation using high-resolution remote sensing, Remote Sensing Letters, DOI: 10.1080/2150704X.2022.2063701

https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20
We found a high overlap between areas of high oil palm suitability and areas of high conservation priority for primates. Overall, we found only a few small areas where oil palm could be cultivated in Africa with a low impact on primates (3.3 Mha, including all areas suitable for oil palm). These results warn that, consistent with the dramatic effects of palm oil cultivation on biodiversity in Southeast Asia, reconciling a large-scale development of oil palm in Africa with primate conservation will be a great challenge.
Small room for compromise between oil palm cultivation and primate conservation in Africa
Giovanni Strona, Simon D. Stringer, Ghislain Vieilledent, et. al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018), 115 (35) 8811-8816; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1804775115
As of 2019, more than 60% of the palm oil plantations in the study area were in Key Biodiversity Areas. KBAs are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. RSPO-certified plantations, comprising 63% of the total cultivated area assessed, did not produce a statistically significant reduction in deforestation and appear to be ineffective at reducing encroachment into ecologically sensitive areas in Guatemala.
Calli P. VanderWilde, Joshua P. Newell, Dimitrios Gounaridis, Benjamin P. Goldstein,
Deforestation, certification, and transnational palm oil supply chains: Linking Guatemala to global consumer markets, Journal of Environmental Management,
Volume 344, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118505

There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.
Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032, 2018.

“The big message is that oil palm is bad for biodiversity, in every sense of the word — even when compared to damaged rainforests that are regenerating after earlier logging or clearing.”
Professor Bill Laurance, James Cook University. ‘Palm oil plantations are bad for wildlife great and small’. The Conversation.

We analyse consequences of the globally important land-use transformation from tropical forests to oil palm plantations. Species diversity, density and biomass of invertebrate communities suffer at least 45% decreases from rainforest to oil palm.
Barnes, A., Jochum, M., Mumme, S. et al. Consequences of tropical land use for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nat Commun 5, 5351 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6351
Palm oil also poses a global risk for zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19
Taking into account the human population growth, we find that the increases in outbreaks of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases from 1990 to 2016 are linked with deforestation, mostly in tropical countries, and with reforestation, mostly in temperate countries. We also find that outbreaks of vector-borne diseases are associated with the increase in areas of palm oil plantations.
Outbreaks of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases Are Associated With Changes in Forest Cover and Oil Palm Expansion at Global Scale
(2021) Morand Serge, Lajaunie Claire, Frontiers in Veterinary Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2021.661063
DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.661063

Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

Fire started within orangutan habitats and destroyed them – this was not investigated by the RSPO

The team used map data from @globalforests and @UMBaltimore, #sentinel2 images from @esa, concession boundaries from @RSPOtweets and #fire hotspot data (#VIIRS) from @NASAEarth.
Originally tweeted by Adina Renner (@adinarenner) on May 10, 2021.
Read more

Asia: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Africa: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Papua New Guinea & West Papua: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

South America: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Greenwashing
‘Europeans have destroyed their forests for agriculture, so why can’t we do the same in the tropics? Stopping our economic development is hypocrisy and colonialism’
‘Sustainable palm oil helps the livelihood of workers on RSPO certified palm oil plantations.‘

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Research analysing media and social media messages around palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia finds that palm oil lobbyists use an ‘Us’ Versus ‘Them’ narrative, in other words, they invoke colonial racism to justify continued deforestation and ecocide.
Four mutually complementary narratives were used by Indonesian and Malaysian media to construe denialism These denialist narratives appeal to a nationalist sentiment of ‘us’ – palm oil-producing developing countries – and ‘them’ – western developed countries producing research critical of the industry.
Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

We had the luck to be born into a developed country, I believe we need to acknowledge the right of lesser-developed countries to develop. We simply have no right to tell a country like Indonesia to forgo economic development, but we can help to steer that development in a sustainable direction.
Michelle Desilets, Director, Orangutan Land Trust. The Switch Report, 2014
RSPO advertisement from social media, with a focus on promoting better workers rights under certified palm oil. An RSPO advertisement targeting the Indian market in 2021 by the RSPO showing supposed benefits for palm oil workers.
https://youtu.be/2ugIE0UJYc4

Social media messaging by palm oil lobbyists reflects a focus on ‘Us’: poor, palm oil producing nations, versus ‘Them’: the ‘greedy, already developed West.

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1295253527191642113?s=20
https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1420662530863550464?s=20

https://twitter.com/palm_eu/status/1440943483410386945?s=20
https://twitter.com/emeijaard/status/1191961097294757889?s=20

https://twitter.com/palmoilmonitor/status/1445795527560515587?s=20
https://twitter.com/CIFOR/status/1016759321701552133?s=20

Reality: Human rights abuses and landgrabbing are ongoing for “sustainable” palm oil

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University of Michigan 2023 study: RSPO plantations do not reduce deforestation in Guatemala
Read more
A 2021 Investigation by Global Witness found that palm oil companies in Papua New Guinea are alleged to have been involved in corruption, child labour, tax evasion, deforestation, worker deaths and paying police to assault villagers.
The palm oil from these mills in Papua New Guinea is used by RSPO members Colgate-Palmolive, Kelloggs, General Mills, Nestle, Hersheys, Danone, PZ Cussons – finds its way into our weekly supermarket shop.
Read report
https://twitter.com/earthsight/status/1192827396451438592?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

https://twitter.com/Rainforest_RIN/status/1541428640491212801?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry finds extensive greenwashing of human rights abuses
Read more
Certified goods improve the price and income of sale for certified goods, but they do not advance equity, income or assets for workers

We identified 64 conflicts that involved RSPO member companies, of which 17 prompted communities to convey their grievances to the RSPO’s conflict resolution mechanism…We conclude that—on all counts—the conflict resolution mechanism is biased in favor of companies. The result of these biases is that the actual capacity of the RSPO’s mechanism to provide a meaningful remedy for rural communities’ grievances remains very limited. This unequal access to justice sustains conflicts between companies and communities over land.
Afrizal, A., Hospes, O., Berenschot, W. et al. Unequal access to justice: an evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agric Hum Values 40, 291–304 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z

We find positive effects on prices and income from sale of certified products. However, we find no change in overall household income and assets for workers. The wages for workers are not higher in certified production.
Oya, C., Schaefer, F. & Skalidou, D. The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: a systematic review. World Dev. 112, 282–312 (2018).

We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.
Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

Oil palm expansion is shaped by wider political economies and development policies.
Market-based development policies have favored large-scale over smallholder production.
Benefits from oil palm are unevenly distributed across rural population.
Violence across forest frontiers has fueled conflicts linked to oil palm.
Weak forest governance has led to significant deforestation by industrial plantations.
A. Castellanos-Navarrete, F. de Castro, P. Pacheco,
The impact of oil palm on rural livelihoods and tropical forest landscapes in Latin America, Journal of Rural Studies,
Volume 81, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.047.
Deforestation by fire for palm oilDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography After a forest fire in Sumatra – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to retail brands
This article argues that the form of sustainability offered by certification schemes such as the RSPO fetishes the commodity palm oil in order to assuage critical consumer initiatives in the North. This technical-managerial solution is part of a larger project: the “post-political” climate politics regime (Swyngedouw) that attempts to “green” the status quo.
Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228
- The palm oil industry is neither sustainable nor a viable development model.
- Certification represents a technical fix which neglects underlying dynamics of power, class, gender and accumulation.
- The fetishised commodity ‘certified sustainable palm oil’ has no impact on the regional scale of expansion.
- Working conditions in the plantations and mills entrench social inequality and poverty.
From: Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228
Deforestation in West PapuaDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography
Deforestation for palm oil: the impact of increased heat on human health
477 villages throughout Kalimantan were surveyed about forest health benefits.
The most frequent answer was maintenance of cool local temperatures.
Perceptions were driven by deforestation and local temperature.
Results point to possible threat of heat impacts on health.
Policy should incorporate human health when considering land use.

Nicholas H. Wolff, Yuta J. Masuda, Erik Meijaard, Jessie A. Wells, Edward T. Game,
Impacts of tropical deforestation on local temperature and human well-being perceptions, Global Environmental Change, Volume 52, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.004.

The False Promise of Certification, Changing Markets (2018)

“While RSPO is often referred to as the best scheme in the sector, it
has several shortcomings; most notably, it allows the conversion of secondary forests and the draining
of peatlands, it has not prevented human rights violations and it does not require GHG emissions
reductions.
“In light of this, we call for action to reduce demand for palm oil, such as
ditching biofuels targets, as well as channelling new plantations into non-forested areas by putting in
place a strong moratorium on palm oil expansion to forests and peatlands. Most schemes in this sector
should be abolished in light of their failures on multiple fronts.”
— The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets
The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets Download report
MSI’s (Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives including the RSPO and Rainforest Alliance) are inadequate in detecting human rights abuses and uphold standards

“MSIs put considerable emphasis on the standards that they set, but have not developed effective mechanisms for detecting abuses, enforcing compliance with those standards, or transparently disclosing levels of compliance. Despite the emergence of models that enable rights holders to legally enforce MSIs’ standards or to be actively engaged in monitoring companies for abuses, MSIs have not adopted them. By focusing on setting standards without adequately ensuring if members are following those standards, MSIs risk providing companies and governments with powerful reputational benefits despite the persistence of rights abuses.”
~ MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020)
MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020) Download report
The difficulty of addressing and resolving oil palm conflicts is due not only to the inadequacies of Indonesia’s legal framework regarding land and plantations but also to the way in which Indonesia’s informalized state institutions foster collusion between local power holders and palm oil companies. This collusion enables companies to evade regulation, suppress community protests and avoid engaging in constructive efforts to resolve conflicts. Furthermore, this collusion has made the available conflict resolution mechanisms largely ineffective.
Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002

Associated Press 2020 Report: Beauty Brands (RSPO members) L’Oreal, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson& Johnson, Unilever linked to rape on palm oil plantations

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1330163571951611906?s=20
https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1329701899180924928?s=20
Associated Press Investigation (2020) finds wide-spread rape, human rights abuses and slavery on palm oil plantations for well known brands: Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Avon, Colgate Palmolive Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words
“The expansion of oil palm plantations has created many detrimental environmental impacts, including deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land conflicts, labour conflicts, and social conflicts around plantations.
“Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established.
“In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic.”
— Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer, In His Own Words.

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Global corporates are responsible for the majority of palm oil production and deforestation risk, not smallholder farmers

The three biggest palm oil traders: Sinar Mas, Wilmar and Musim Mas – are founding members of the RSPO. They have the biggest deforestation risk of all other palm oil companies combined. Deforestation goes against the RSPO’s rules – yet these big companies do not lose their RSPO membership or face punishment.
Source: Insights: Indonesian Palm Oil. Trase Earth (2018)
Search the Environmental Justice Atlas for specific companies and their human rights abuses and land-grabbing record
Search here
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RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector
Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018
Read original letter
Letter
During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.
RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.
They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:
1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.
Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.
Violence is intrinsic to this model:
- violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
- companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
- sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
- Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
- working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
- exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
- depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.
RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.
The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.
None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.
Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.
On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.
RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.
For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.
RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.
Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.
RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.
This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.
Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.
Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.
The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.
What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.
Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.
For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
As immediate steps, governments need to:
- Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
- Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
- Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
- Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.
Signatures
- Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
- ActionAid, France
- AGAPAN
  Amics arbres
- Arbres amics
- Amis de la Terre France
- ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
- Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
  Asociación Gaia El Salvador
- Association Congo Actif, Paris
- Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
- Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
- BASE IS
- Bézu St Eloi
- Boxberg OT Uhyst
- Bread for all
- Bruno Manser Fund
- CADDECAE, Ecuador
- Campaign to STOP GE Trees
- CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
- Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
- CESTA – FOE El Salvador
- CETRI – Centre tricontinental
- Climate Change Kenya
- Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
- Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
- Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
- Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
- Consumers Association of Penang
- Corporate Europe Observatory
- Cuttington University
- Down to Earth Consult
- El Campello
- Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
- Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
- FASE ES , Brazil
- Fédération romande des consommateurs
- FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
- Focus on the Global South
- Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
- Friends of the Earth Ghana
- Friends of the Earth International
- GE Free NZ, New Zealand
- Global Alliance against REDD
- Global Justice Ecology Project
- Global Info
- Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
- GRAIN
- Green Development Advocates (GDA)
- CameroonGreystones, Ireland
- Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
  Grupo ETC
- Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
- Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
- Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
- Justica Ambiental
- Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
- Kempityari
- Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
- Les gens du partage
- LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
- Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
- Maiouri nature, Guyane
- Mangrove Action Project
- Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
- Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
- Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
- Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
- New Wind Association from Finland
- NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
- Oakland Institute
- OFRANEH, Honduras
- Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
- ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
- OPIROMA, Brazil
- Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
- Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
- PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
- Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
- Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
- Rainforest Foundation UK
- Rainforest Relief
- ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
- RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
- Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
- REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
- Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
- ROBIN WOOD
- Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
- Salva la Selva
- School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
- Serendipalm Company Limited
- Sherpa , The Netherlands
- SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
- The Corner House, UK
  Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
- TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
  University of Sussex, UK
- UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
- WESSA
  World Rainforest Movement
- Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana
Epidemics and rapacity of multinational companies in Liberia
Discussion Paper. The Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics. Release date: 12th March, 2022
Conclusion
https://twitter.com/CEP_LSE/status/1502238109677015044?s=20&t=CwBhOE-SLGkXtNxC9nXw5w
This paper provides novel granular evidence on the interaction between the Ebola epidemic, deforestation, and palm oil plantations in Liberia. The palm oil multinationals, exploiting the health crisis, stepped up deforestation to increase output. The effect on deforestation is more severe in areas inhabited by politically unrepresented ethnic groups, characterized by a reduction in tree coverage by 6.5%.
We also document an increase of more than 125% in the likelihood of
fire events within concessions during the epidemic. This suggests that not only did the palm oil companies foster deforestation, but further that they used forest fires to do so. This is particularly harmful to the environment, and the smoke and the haze may have severe health consequences, apart from being a source of carbon dioxide.
This deforestation was accompanied by a 150% increase in the amount of land dedicated to cultivation.
This exploitative behaviour was highly profitable for palm oil companies, with a 1428% increase in the value of Liberian palm oil’s exports compared with the pre-Ebola period. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for local people or the local environment.
Read more
Greenwashing
The RSPO prevents and stops deforestation and fires on palm oil plantations by its members

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https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1146706666508955648?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355496891673415680?s=20
https://twitter.com/SimamoraDupito/status/1442410921519771649?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355827449397915651?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1461673435965313025

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1173741858171830272?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1447297851038605315?s=20
https://twitter.com/HersheyCompany/status/1447916947669192709?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169538449680031745?s=20
https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1385138817309548544?s=20
https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169532824375955456?s=20
https://twitter.com/Nestle/status/1404782473221967872?s=20

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Greenwashing
Lies and denialism in the media about the environmental impact of palm oil

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Research into media coverage of the environmental impact of palm oil in Indonesia shows they deny it’s causing ecocide

We found that media reporting of the denialist narrative is more prevalent than that of the peer-reviewed science consensus-view that palm oil plantations on tropical peat could cause excessive greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the risk of fires.
Our article alerts to the continuation of unsustainable practices as justified by the media to the public, and that the prevalence of these denialist narratives constitute a significant obstacle in resolving pressing issues such as transboundary haze, biodiversity loss, and land-use change related greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia.
Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1448232875535388678?s=20

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1436104523756433434?s=20
Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s administration has achieved four consecutive years of deforestation declines via land-use reforms and re-establishing a logging moratorium. This significant work culminated in 2020 when the country gained its lowest deforestation rates since monitoring began, reaching a 75% drop year-over-year.
Luana Stephen, Intelligent Living, September 1, 2021.

Reality: RSPO “Sustainable” Palm Oil Does Not Stop or Prevent Deforestation

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Tweet from Bart Van Assen, former lead auditor for the RSPO and HCV admitting that the main goal of the RSPO, FSC and other certification initiatives is not to prevent deforestation. (Bart has formerly used @palmoiltruther on Twitter but now changes between @Forest4Apes or @Apes4Forests depending on times when he attempts to conceal his identity).

Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

Certification had no causal impact on forest loss in peatlands or active fire detection rates.
Kimberly M. Carlson, Robert Heilmayr, Holly K. Gibbs, Praveen Noojipady et al. Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia, PNAS January 2, 2018 115 (1) 121-126 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114

No significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.
Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

The Neue Zuercher Zeitung used several cases to highlight where slash-and-burn techniques continue on RSPO-certified land, and where new plantations are threatening important ecosystems. These examples are representative of the huge gap between the need for environmental protection and the ever-increasing global demand for palm oil.
Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (May 2021) (In English)

Swiss multinational Nestlé received hundreds of thousands of alerts of forest clearing near its palm oil suppliers in 2019 via satellite monitoring.
Nestlé identified over 1,000 cases of deforestation per day in palm oil areas. SwissInfo (2020).

https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

Fire outbreaks in and around palm oil concessions (often starting from slash-and-burn fires to clear land for plantations).

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Thousands of fire alerts were recorded by Chain Reaction Research on RSPO member palm oil plantations
The top ten palm oil traders and refiners in Indonesia all had thousands of alerts for fires in their palm oil plantations:
- ADM
- Unilever
- Neste
- Cargill
- Bunge
- Wilmar
- Olam
- AAK
all of these companies are RSPO members

https://youtu.be/jdYT_g9ENxw?t=1346
A still from the Chain Reaction Research video: Which Companies are Expoosed to Deforestation Driven Fires in their Supply Chains
A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)
Read more
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Explore the series
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight greenwashing and deforestation by using your wallet as a weapon!
Find out more

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Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing
1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil
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WPS News @[email protected] · 2026-05-15 · 01:15 UTC

Help Is Not the Same as a Future

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News
Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — May 15, 2026
The Difference No One Warns You About
There is a distinction that matters more than most people realize, and it is one America is very careful not to teach explicitly. Help and a future are not the same thing. One can exist without the other, and often does.
I learned that lesson most clearly in Minnesota.
After Illinois, help felt like progress. Assistance existed. People noticed. Systems responded. Compared to what I had known before, that alone felt like a step forward. It took time to understand that help, by itself, does not change trajectory. It only stabilizes the present.
A future requires something else entirely.
When Assistance Works as Designed
Minnesota’s support systems did what they were supposed to do. Food pantries were available. Churches stepped in with grocery vouchers. State assistance existed and was accessible. None of it was humiliating or hostile.
This matters, and it should not be minimized. Compared to many states, Minnesota treats need as a condition rather than a moral failing. That alone reduces suffering.
But systems designed to alleviate immediate hardship are not the same as systems designed to produce long-term mobility. One keeps you afloat. The other gives you a direction.
Minnesota offered flotation. It did not offer direction.
Stabilization Without Movement
Once basic needs are met, the next question is obvious: what comes next? That is where the silence returned.
Work was available, but it clustered in roles that did not lead anywhere else. Security work. Overnight shifts. Positions that absorbed time and energy without building leverage. These jobs kept people alive, but they did not help them move.
Labor economists have noted that many regional economies rely on what are effectively “containment jobs”—roles that stabilize labor markets without creating upward mobility (Autor, 2019). They are not meant to be ladders. They are meant to be endpoints.
If you enter one of those jobs from the outside, you tend to stay there.
The Ceiling You Don’t Hit—You Just Reach
In more openly stratified states, ceilings announce themselves. Wages stall. Housing becomes impossible. You are pushed out.
In Minnesota, the ceiling is quieter. You simply stop rising.
You receive help. You survive. You do not advance.
There is no dramatic rejection. No explicit denial. Just a gradual realization that nothing is opening further, no matter how steady your effort remains.
This is a subtler form of closure, and in some ways, it is more dangerous. It encourages patience where action might otherwise occur. It teaches people to wait.
Temporary Lives Become Permanent
When help replaces opportunity, lives become provisional. You do not plan long-term. You do not invest. You do not imagine permanence.
You tell yourself you are “getting through this period,” even when the period stretches into years.
Sociological research on precarity shows that long-term instability, even when buffered by assistance, erodes planning capacity and future orientation (Standing, 2011). People adapt to the absence of forward motion by shrinking their expectations.
That adaptation is rational. It is also corrosive.
Why Decency Is Not Enough
Minnesota is often held up as evidence that decency solves inequality. The logic is appealing: if systems are kind, outcomes will improve.
But kindness does not rewire labor markets. It does not dismantle closed networks. It does not create pathways where none exist.
Decency reduces harm. It does not redistribute access.
That is not a moral critique. It is a structural one.
The Emotional Cost of Waiting
There is a particular exhaustion that comes from being told, implicitly, that things are fine because you are being helped. Gratitude becomes an obligation. Frustration becomes inappropriate.
After all, the system is doing its part.
This dynamic silences critique. It frames dissatisfaction as ingratitude. It keeps people from naming the absence of a future because the present is tolerable.
I felt that pressure in Minnesota. I felt the need to justify leaving a place that had treated me decently—despite knowing I could not build a life there.
When Leaving Is the Only Honest Choice
Eventually, circumstances made the decision easier. My daughter returned to Texas. The reason I had come to Minnesota dissolved. What remained was a choice between staying static or moving on.
Leaving did not feel dramatic. It felt necessary.
That is often how exits happen in systems that offer help without futures. People do not flee. They drift away when they realize waiting will not change anything.
A National Pattern, Not a Local Failure
This essay is not an indictment of Minnesota alone. It describes a pattern visible across many “well-run” states and cities.
Assistance expands. Opportunity contracts. People survive longer without advancing further.
This is how inequality becomes normalized. Not through cruelty, but through containment.
Naming the Distinction Clearly
Help matters. It saves lives. It reduces suffering. It should exist everywhere.
But help is not a future.
A future requires access to networks, mobility, housing stability, and work that compounds rather than consumes time. Without those, assistance becomes a holding pattern.
Minnesota taught me that lesson clearly.
It showed me that survival and progress are not the same thing—and that confusing the two can cost you years.
References
Autor, D. (2019). Work of the past, work of the future. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 109, 1–32.
Standing, G. (2011). The precariat: The new dangerous class. Bloomsbury Academic.
#AmericanClassSystem #classMobility #inequality #laborMarkets #Minnesota #precarity #socialAssistance #socialSafetyNet

#americanclasssystem #classmobility #inequality #labormarkets #minnesota #precarity
WPS News @[email protected] · 2026-05-15 · 01:15 UTC

Help Is Not the Same as a Future

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News
Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — May 15, 2026
The Difference No One Warns You About
There is a distinction that matters more than most people realize, and it is one America is very careful not to teach explicitly. Help and a future are not the same thing. One can exist without the other, and often does.
I learned that lesson most clearly in Minnesota.
After Illinois, help felt like progress. Assistance existed. People noticed. Systems responded. Compared to what I had known before, that alone felt like a step forward. It took time to understand that help, by itself, does not change trajectory. It only stabilizes the present.
A future requires something else entirely.
When Assistance Works as Designed
Minnesota’s support systems did what they were supposed to do. Food pantries were available. Churches stepped in with grocery vouchers. State assistance existed and was accessible. None of it was humiliating or hostile.
This matters, and it should not be minimized. Compared to many states, Minnesota treats need as a condition rather than a moral failing. That alone reduces suffering.
But systems designed to alleviate immediate hardship are not the same as systems designed to produce long-term mobility. One keeps you afloat. The other gives you a direction.
Minnesota offered flotation. It did not offer direction.
Stabilization Without Movement
Once basic needs are met, the next question is obvious: what comes next? That is where the silence returned.
Work was available, but it clustered in roles that did not lead anywhere else. Security work. Overnight shifts. Positions that absorbed time and energy without building leverage. These jobs kept people alive, but they did not help them move.
Labor economists have noted that many regional economies rely on what are effectively “containment jobs”—roles that stabilize labor markets without creating upward mobility (Autor, 2019). They are not meant to be ladders. They are meant to be endpoints.
If you enter one of those jobs from the outside, you tend to stay there.
The Ceiling You Don’t Hit—You Just Reach
In more openly stratified states, ceilings announce themselves. Wages stall. Housing becomes impossible. You are pushed out.
In Minnesota, the ceiling is quieter. You simply stop rising.
You receive help. You survive. You do not advance.
There is no dramatic rejection. No explicit denial. Just a gradual realization that nothing is opening further, no matter how steady your effort remains.
This is a subtler form of closure, and in some ways, it is more dangerous. It encourages patience where action might otherwise occur. It teaches people to wait.
Temporary Lives Become Permanent
When help replaces opportunity, lives become provisional. You do not plan long-term. You do not invest. You do not imagine permanence.
You tell yourself you are “getting through this period,” even when the period stretches into years.
Sociological research on precarity shows that long-term instability, even when buffered by assistance, erodes planning capacity and future orientation (Standing, 2011). People adapt to the absence of forward motion by shrinking their expectations.
That adaptation is rational. It is also corrosive.
Why Decency Is Not Enough
Minnesota is often held up as evidence that decency solves inequality. The logic is appealing: if systems are kind, outcomes will improve.
But kindness does not rewire labor markets. It does not dismantle closed networks. It does not create pathways where none exist.
Decency reduces harm. It does not redistribute access.
That is not a moral critique. It is a structural one.
The Emotional Cost of Waiting
There is a particular exhaustion that comes from being told, implicitly, that things are fine because you are being helped. Gratitude becomes an obligation. Frustration becomes inappropriate.
After all, the system is doing its part.
This dynamic silences critique. It frames dissatisfaction as ingratitude. It keeps people from naming the absence of a future because the present is tolerable.
I felt that pressure in Minnesota. I felt the need to justify leaving a place that had treated me decently—despite knowing I could not build a life there.
When Leaving Is the Only Honest Choice
Eventually, circumstances made the decision easier. My daughter returned to Texas. The reason I had come to Minnesota dissolved. What remained was a choice between staying static or moving on.
Leaving did not feel dramatic. It felt necessary.
That is often how exits happen in systems that offer help without futures. People do not flee. They drift away when they realize waiting will not change anything.
A National Pattern, Not a Local Failure
This essay is not an indictment of Minnesota alone. It describes a pattern visible across many “well-run” states and cities.
Assistance expands. Opportunity contracts. People survive longer without advancing further.
This is how inequality becomes normalized. Not through cruelty, but through containment.
Naming the Distinction Clearly
Help matters. It saves lives. It reduces suffering. It should exist everywhere.
But help is not a future.
A future requires access to networks, mobility, housing stability, and work that compounds rather than consumes time. Without those, assistance becomes a holding pattern.
Minnesota taught me that lesson clearly.
It showed me that survival and progress are not the same thing—and that confusing the two can cost you years.
References
Autor, D. (2019). Work of the past, work of the future. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 109, 1–32.
Standing, G. (2011). The precariat: The new dangerous class. Bloomsbury Academic.
#AmericanClassSystem #classMobility #inequality #laborMarkets #Minnesota #precarity #socialAssistance #socialSafetyNet

#americanclasssystem #classmobility #inequality #labormarkets #minnesota #precarity
WPS News @[email protected] · 2026-05-15 · 01:15 UTC

Help Is Not the Same as a Future

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News
Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — May 15, 2026
The Difference No One Warns You About
There is a distinction that matters more than most people realize, and it is one America is very careful not to teach explicitly. Help and a future are not the same thing. One can exist without the other, and often does.
I learned that lesson most clearly in Minnesota.
After Illinois, help felt like progress. Assistance existed. People noticed. Systems responded. Compared to what I had known before, that alone felt like a step forward. It took time to understand that help, by itself, does not change trajectory. It only stabilizes the present.
A future requires something else entirely.
When Assistance Works as Designed
Minnesota’s support systems did what they were supposed to do. Food pantries were available. Churches stepped in with grocery vouchers. State assistance existed and was accessible. None of it was humiliating or hostile.
This matters, and it should not be minimized. Compared to many states, Minnesota treats need as a condition rather than a moral failing. That alone reduces suffering.
But systems designed to alleviate immediate hardship are not the same as systems designed to produce long-term mobility. One keeps you afloat. The other gives you a direction.
Minnesota offered flotation. It did not offer direction.
Stabilization Without Movement
Once basic needs are met, the next question is obvious: what comes next? That is where the silence returned.
Work was available, but it clustered in roles that did not lead anywhere else. Security work. Overnight shifts. Positions that absorbed time and energy without building leverage. These jobs kept people alive, but they did not help them move.
Labor economists have noted that many regional economies rely on what are effectively “containment jobs”—roles that stabilize labor markets without creating upward mobility (Autor, 2019). They are not meant to be ladders. They are meant to be endpoints.
If you enter one of those jobs from the outside, you tend to stay there.
The Ceiling You Don’t Hit—You Just Reach
In more openly stratified states, ceilings announce themselves. Wages stall. Housing becomes impossible. You are pushed out.
In Minnesota, the ceiling is quieter. You simply stop rising.
You receive help. You survive. You do not advance.
There is no dramatic rejection. No explicit denial. Just a gradual realization that nothing is opening further, no matter how steady your effort remains.
This is a subtler form of closure, and in some ways, it is more dangerous. It encourages patience where action might otherwise occur. It teaches people to wait.
Temporary Lives Become Permanent
When help replaces opportunity, lives become provisional. You do not plan long-term. You do not invest. You do not imagine permanence.
You tell yourself you are “getting through this period,” even when the period stretches into years.
Sociological research on precarity shows that long-term instability, even when buffered by assistance, erodes planning capacity and future orientation (Standing, 2011). People adapt to the absence of forward motion by shrinking their expectations.
That adaptation is rational. It is also corrosive.
Why Decency Is Not Enough
Minnesota is often held up as evidence that decency solves inequality. The logic is appealing: if systems are kind, outcomes will improve.
But kindness does not rewire labor markets. It does not dismantle closed networks. It does not create pathways where none exist.
Decency reduces harm. It does not redistribute access.
That is not a moral critique. It is a structural one.
The Emotional Cost of Waiting
There is a particular exhaustion that comes from being told, implicitly, that things are fine because you are being helped. Gratitude becomes an obligation. Frustration becomes inappropriate.
After all, the system is doing its part.
This dynamic silences critique. It frames dissatisfaction as ingratitude. It keeps people from naming the absence of a future because the present is tolerable.
I felt that pressure in Minnesota. I felt the need to justify leaving a place that had treated me decently—despite knowing I could not build a life there.
When Leaving Is the Only Honest Choice
Eventually, circumstances made the decision easier. My daughter returned to Texas. The reason I had come to Minnesota dissolved. What remained was a choice between staying static or moving on.
Leaving did not feel dramatic. It felt necessary.
That is often how exits happen in systems that offer help without futures. People do not flee. They drift away when they realize waiting will not change anything.
A National Pattern, Not a Local Failure
This essay is not an indictment of Minnesota alone. It describes a pattern visible across many “well-run” states and cities.
Assistance expands. Opportunity contracts. People survive longer without advancing further.
This is how inequality becomes normalized. Not through cruelty, but through containment.
Naming the Distinction Clearly
Help matters. It saves lives. It reduces suffering. It should exist everywhere.
But help is not a future.
A future requires access to networks, mobility, housing stability, and work that compounds rather than consumes time. Without those, assistance becomes a holding pattern.
Minnesota taught me that lesson clearly.
It showed me that survival and progress are not the same thing—and that confusing the two can cost you years.
References
Autor, D. (2019). Work of the past, work of the future. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 109, 1–32.
Standing, G. (2011). The precariat: The new dangerous class. Bloomsbury Academic.
#AmericanClassSystem #classMobility #inequality #laborMarkets #Minnesota #precarity #socialAssistance #socialSafetyNet

#americanclasssystem #classmobility #inequality #labormarkets #minnesota #precarity
WPS News @[email protected] · 2026-05-15 · 01:15 UTC

Help Is Not the Same as a Future

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News
Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — May 15, 2026
The Difference No One Warns You About
There is a distinction that matters more than most people realize, and it is one America is very careful not to teach explicitly. Help and a future are not the same thing. One can exist without the other, and often does.
I learned that lesson most clearly in Minnesota.
After Illinois, help felt like progress. Assistance existed. People noticed. Systems responded. Compared to what I had known before, that alone felt like a step forward. It took time to understand that help, by itself, does not change trajectory. It only stabilizes the present.
A future requires something else entirely.
When Assistance Works as Designed
Minnesota’s support systems did what they were supposed to do. Food pantries were available. Churches stepped in with grocery vouchers. State assistance existed and was accessible. None of it was humiliating or hostile.
This matters, and it should not be minimized. Compared to many states, Minnesota treats need as a condition rather than a moral failing. That alone reduces suffering.
But systems designed to alleviate immediate hardship are not the same as systems designed to produce long-term mobility. One keeps you afloat. The other gives you a direction.
Minnesota offered flotation. It did not offer direction.
Stabilization Without Movement
Once basic needs are met, the next question is obvious: what comes next? That is where the silence returned.
Work was available, but it clustered in roles that did not lead anywhere else. Security work. Overnight shifts. Positions that absorbed time and energy without building leverage. These jobs kept people alive, but they did not help them move.
Labor economists have noted that many regional economies rely on what are effectively “containment jobs”—roles that stabilize labor markets without creating upward mobility (Autor, 2019). They are not meant to be ladders. They are meant to be endpoints.
If you enter one of those jobs from the outside, you tend to stay there.
The Ceiling You Don’t Hit—You Just Reach
In more openly stratified states, ceilings announce themselves. Wages stall. Housing becomes impossible. You are pushed out.
In Minnesota, the ceiling is quieter. You simply stop rising.
You receive help. You survive. You do not advance.
There is no dramatic rejection. No explicit denial. Just a gradual realization that nothing is opening further, no matter how steady your effort remains.
This is a subtler form of closure, and in some ways, it is more dangerous. It encourages patience where action might otherwise occur. It teaches people to wait.
Temporary Lives Become Permanent
When help replaces opportunity, lives become provisional. You do not plan long-term. You do not invest. You do not imagine permanence.
You tell yourself you are “getting through this period,” even when the period stretches into years.
Sociological research on precarity shows that long-term instability, even when buffered by assistance, erodes planning capacity and future orientation (Standing, 2011). People adapt to the absence of forward motion by shrinking their expectations.
That adaptation is rational. It is also corrosive.
Why Decency Is Not Enough
Minnesota is often held up as evidence that decency solves inequality. The logic is appealing: if systems are kind, outcomes will improve.
But kindness does not rewire labor markets. It does not dismantle closed networks. It does not create pathways where none exist.
Decency reduces harm. It does not redistribute access.
That is not a moral critique. It is a structural one.
The Emotional Cost of Waiting
There is a particular exhaustion that comes from being told, implicitly, that things are fine because you are being helped. Gratitude becomes an obligation. Frustration becomes inappropriate.
After all, the system is doing its part.
This dynamic silences critique. It frames dissatisfaction as ingratitude. It keeps people from naming the absence of a future because the present is tolerable.
I felt that pressure in Minnesota. I felt the need to justify leaving a place that had treated me decently—despite knowing I could not build a life there.
When Leaving Is the Only Honest Choice
Eventually, circumstances made the decision easier. My daughter returned to Texas. The reason I had come to Minnesota dissolved. What remained was a choice between staying static or moving on.
Leaving did not feel dramatic. It felt necessary.
That is often how exits happen in systems that offer help without futures. People do not flee. They drift away when they realize waiting will not change anything.
A National Pattern, Not a Local Failure
This essay is not an indictment of Minnesota alone. It describes a pattern visible across many “well-run” states and cities.
Assistance expands. Opportunity contracts. People survive longer without advancing further.
This is how inequality becomes normalized. Not through cruelty, but through containment.
Naming the Distinction Clearly
Help matters. It saves lives. It reduces suffering. It should exist everywhere.
But help is not a future.
A future requires access to networks, mobility, housing stability, and work that compounds rather than consumes time. Without those, assistance becomes a holding pattern.
Minnesota taught me that lesson clearly.
It showed me that survival and progress are not the same thing—and that confusing the two can cost you years.
References
Autor, D. (2019). Work of the past, work of the future. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 109, 1–32.
Standing, G. (2011). The precariat: The new dangerous class. Bloomsbury Academic.
#AmericanClassSystem #classMobility #inequality #laborMarkets #Minnesota #precarity #socialAssistance #socialSafetyNet

#socialsafetynet #socialassistance #precarity #minnesota #labormarkets #inequality
WPS News @[email protected] · 2026-05-15 · 01:15 UTC

Help Is Not the Same as a Future

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News
Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — May 15, 2026
The Difference No One Warns You About
There is a distinction that matters more than most people realize, and it is one America is very careful not to teach explicitly. Help and a future are not the same thing. One can exist without the other, and often does.
I learned that lesson most clearly in Minnesota.
After Illinois, help felt like progress. Assistance existed. People noticed. Systems responded. Compared to what I had known before, that alone felt like a step forward. It took time to understand that help, by itself, does not change trajectory. It only stabilizes the present.
A future requires something else entirely.
When Assistance Works as Designed
Minnesota’s support systems did what they were supposed to do. Food pantries were available. Churches stepped in with grocery vouchers. State assistance existed and was accessible. None of it was humiliating or hostile.
This matters, and it should not be minimized. Compared to many states, Minnesota treats need as a condition rather than a moral failing. That alone reduces suffering.
But systems designed to alleviate immediate hardship are not the same as systems designed to produce long-term mobility. One keeps you afloat. The other gives you a direction.
Minnesota offered flotation. It did not offer direction.
Stabilization Without Movement
Once basic needs are met, the next question is obvious: what comes next? That is where the silence returned.
Work was available, but it clustered in roles that did not lead anywhere else. Security work. Overnight shifts. Positions that absorbed time and energy without building leverage. These jobs kept people alive, but they did not help them move.
Labor economists have noted that many regional economies rely on what are effectively “containment jobs”—roles that stabilize labor markets without creating upward mobility (Autor, 2019). They are not meant to be ladders. They are meant to be endpoints.
If you enter one of those jobs from the outside, you tend to stay there.
The Ceiling You Don’t Hit—You Just Reach
In more openly stratified states, ceilings announce themselves. Wages stall. Housing becomes impossible. You are pushed out.
In Minnesota, the ceiling is quieter. You simply stop rising.
You receive help. You survive. You do not advance.
There is no dramatic rejection. No explicit denial. Just a gradual realization that nothing is opening further, no matter how steady your effort remains.
This is a subtler form of closure, and in some ways, it is more dangerous. It encourages patience where action might otherwise occur. It teaches people to wait.
Temporary Lives Become Permanent
When help replaces opportunity, lives become provisional. You do not plan long-term. You do not invest. You do not imagine permanence.
You tell yourself you are “getting through this period,” even when the period stretches into years.
Sociological research on precarity shows that long-term instability, even when buffered by assistance, erodes planning capacity and future orientation (Standing, 2011). People adapt to the absence of forward motion by shrinking their expectations.
That adaptation is rational. It is also corrosive.
Why Decency Is Not Enough
Minnesota is often held up as evidence that decency solves inequality. The logic is appealing: if systems are kind, outcomes will improve.
But kindness does not rewire labor markets. It does not dismantle closed networks. It does not create pathways where none exist.
Decency reduces harm. It does not redistribute access.
That is not a moral critique. It is a structural one.
The Emotional Cost of Waiting
There is a particular exhaustion that comes from being told, implicitly, that things are fine because you are being helped. Gratitude becomes an obligation. Frustration becomes inappropriate.
After all, the system is doing its part.
This dynamic silences critique. It frames dissatisfaction as ingratitude. It keeps people from naming the absence of a future because the present is tolerable.
I felt that pressure in Minnesota. I felt the need to justify leaving a place that had treated me decently—despite knowing I could not build a life there.
When Leaving Is the Only Honest Choice
Eventually, circumstances made the decision easier. My daughter returned to Texas. The reason I had come to Minnesota dissolved. What remained was a choice between staying static or moving on.
Leaving did not feel dramatic. It felt necessary.
That is often how exits happen in systems that offer help without futures. People do not flee. They drift away when they realize waiting will not change anything.
A National Pattern, Not a Local Failure
This essay is not an indictment of Minnesota alone. It describes a pattern visible across many “well-run” states and cities.
Assistance expands. Opportunity contracts. People survive longer without advancing further.
This is how inequality becomes normalized. Not through cruelty, but through containment.
Naming the Distinction Clearly
Help matters. It saves lives. It reduces suffering. It should exist everywhere.
But help is not a future.
A future requires access to networks, mobility, housing stability, and work that compounds rather than consumes time. Without those, assistance becomes a holding pattern.
Minnesota taught me that lesson clearly.
It showed me that survival and progress are not the same thing—and that confusing the two can cost you years.
References
Autor, D. (2019). Work of the past, work of the future. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 109, 1–32.
Standing, G. (2011). The precariat: The new dangerous class. Bloomsbury Academic.
#AmericanClassSystem #classMobility #inequality #laborMarkets #Minnesota #precarity #socialAssistance #socialSafetyNet

#americanclasssystem #classmobility #inequality #labormarkets #minnesota #precarity
abolitionmedia @[email protected] · 2024-11-04 · 19:14 UTC
Introduction
On May 25, 2020, police in Minneapolis Minnesota murdered George Floyd in cold blood. Responding to allegations of counterfeit money, police arrested Floyd, with one officer kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes, ultimately suffocating him. The killing was captured on video and quickly spread across the internet.
Protests soon followed. The first protest organized in Minneapolis was on May 26. By May 28 the protests had spread to the nearby cities of St Paul and Duluth with riots occurring in Minneaopolis that evening. Mostly notably, the third precinct of the Minneapolis Police Department was besieged and burned. Minnesota activated the National Guard on May 29 in response to the unrest.1 The American state’s disastrous response to COVID-19, massive unemployment, and indiscriminate police killings that disproportionately target people of colour provided the impetus for an enormous and unprecedented outpouring of rage; protests, many of them violently targeting the police, spread across the United States like wildfire.
While the initial uprising was ferocious in its explosive anger and militancy, within just three weeks the protests seem to have been channeled largely into the decidedly less militant demand of “Defund the police.” What happened? I largely agree with what Kandist Mallett wrote in a brilliant article in Teen Vogue, in which she argued that: “those in power…are working tirelessly to destroy this wave of unrest before it becomes a tsunami they cannot control.… They are trying to kill this movement.”2 The defanging of the George Floyd Uprising was not accidental but was rather a deliberate attempt on the part of the American ruling class to regain social control in the wake of the most militant protests in recent memory—and, as a movement, possibly the largest in U.S. history.
What I want to do in this article is to examine the dimensions of how this defanging took place: how, within the space of two weeks, we went from burning down a police station to making small budgetary demands. I argue that the massive effort to defang the George Floyd Uprising should be understood as a deliberate counter-insurgency operation, combining the (sometimes coordinated) efforts of: various police forces, the capitalist media, the American military, NGOs, the Democrats, both state and federal governments, and other liberal establishment figures. What I also want to show is that these efforts were not extraordinary: there was no shadowy conspiracy to intervene. Rather, each of these apparatuses functioned exactly as intended to in order to defend the existing capitalist order. By examining the response to the George Floyd Uprising, the left can gain a better understanding of just how difficult it will be to overthrow capitalism and the capitalist state and potentially avoid pitfalls in the future.
Before continuing, I want to address the initial and most obvious opposition to my argument. If the efforts to defang the protests should be understood as a counter-insurgency, then it stands to reason that the George Floyd Uprising should be considered an insurgency. Is this not hyperbolic? Given the extent of the crisis of legitimacy the protests created for the American state, I do not think it is hyperbolic at all. As Kristian Williams argued in “The other side of the COIN: counterinsurgency and community policing”, insurgency and counter-insurgency is precisely the lens through which the American state views much of its domestic policing activity, from gang-related operations through to protest management.3
The uprising truly created a crisis of legitimacy for the American state. It needs to be stated outright that the burning of a police station and the forced retreat, under siege, of the police inside is unprecedented in the history of modern American protest. The vulnerability of the police was put on full display: the following night police were attacked in Los Angeles and New York, among other locations. The National Guard was deployed throughout the United States. While not as historically unprecedented for dealing with dissent, there were concerns, at least in Minnesota, that the National Guard would be insufficient to quell the uprising. Governor Tim Walz on May 30 in the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “We do not have the numbers… We cannot arrest people when we are trying to hold ground.”4 Three days later, a Senior Airman in the Minnesota National Guard said in an interview that he was “waiting for the scales to tip” with regards to the “riot purgatory” that existed; the National Guard had, as of June 2, been unable to gain control of the city.5 Trump was even rushed to his White House bunker in response to protests in Washington D.C.; the last time those bunkers were used was during the September 11 attacks.6 Transit workers used their collective power to refuse to transport arrested protestors.7 Inspired by the protests, longshore workers of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union struck and shut down ports across the West Coast in mid-June.8 And in terms of putting numbers to the crisis of legitimacy faced by the American state, on June 3 a Monmouth University survey reported that 54% of Americans thought that the burning of the precinct was justified, higher than the level of support enjoyed by either Biden or Trump.9
Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency
The United States military, in Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, defines an insurgency as: “The organized use of subversion and violence to seize, nullify, or challenge political control of a region.” Counter-insurgency then is defined as “Comprehensive civilian and military efforts designed to simultaneously defeat and contain insurgency and address its root causes.”10
It is worth quoting from the manual at length to demonstrate the sophistication with which the U.S. Military approaches counter-insurgency operations.
Highlighting the specificity of counter-insurgency operations, the manual argues that:
COIN [counter-insurgency] is distinguished from traditional warfare due to the focus of its operations—a relevant population—and its strategic purpose—to gain or maintain control or influence over—and the support of that relevant population through political, psychological, and economic methods.11
Central to how the U.S. Military sees insurgency is the question of political legitimacy:
The struggle for legitimacy with the relevant population is typically a central theme of the conflict between the insurgency and the HN [host nation] government. The HN government generally needs some level of legitimacy among the population to retain the confidence of the populace and an acknowledgment of governing power. The insurgency will attack the legitimacy of the HN government while attempting to develop its own legitimacy with the population. COIN should reduce the credibility of the insurgency while strengthening the legitimacy of the HN government.12
And in turn, central to the question of legitimacy is the task of building and controlling narratives:
COIN planners should compose a unifying message (the COIN narrative) that is consistent with the overarching USG narrative, which is coupled to the USG [U.S. government] objective. Narrative is a structure of planned themes from which both messages and actions are developed. Narrative provides a common thread of communicative influence. The objective speaks to desired outcome; narrative communicates the story of the how and why of an operation. Common themes within a COIN narrative may be: reinforcing the credibility and perception of legitimacy of the HN and USG COIN operation, exploiting the negative aspects of the insurgent efforts, and preemptively presenting the expected insurgent argument along with counter-arguments. … The COIN narrative should be the result of meticulous target-audience analysis conducted by cultural and language subject matter experts … The COIN narrative should provide the guidance from which themes, actions, and messages can be planned in support of the COIN objectives.13
Narrative construction and control is reiterated in practical terms later in the Manual:
In COIN, the information flow can be roughly divided into information which the USG requires to guide its political-military approach (i.e., knowledge of local conditions) and information which the USG wishes to disseminate to influence populations. At the same time, counterinsurgents also seek to impede the information flow of insurgent groups—both their intelligence collection and their ability to influence the relevant population. 14
One of the tactics emphasized to impede the ability of insurgents to influence the target population is working with local authorities—especially non-governmental ones like religious leaders, and NGOs- to coopt the message of the insurgency and explicitly to moderate it.15 This latter point is extremely important; while moderate movements may enjoy more popular support, they are also far less successful at winning their demands.16 It is therefore in the interest of those defend the existing order to support the moderate elements of a movement.
All this is to say then that the U.S. Military understands insurgency and counter-insurgency as being not just a military question, but rather a question of politics. To this end, the Manual heavily emphasizes the importance of political action in counter-insurgency operations:
To be effective, officials involved in COIN should address two imperatives—political action and security—with equal urgency, recognizing that insurgency is fundamentally an armed political competition…. COIN functions, therefore, include informational, security, political, economic, and development components, all of which are designed to support the overall objective of establishing and consolidating control by the HN government. … This is the core of COIN, because it provides a framework around which all other programs and activities are organized. As described above, depending on the root causes of the insurgency, the strategy may involve elements of political reform, reconciliation, popular mobilization, and governmental capacity building.17
If we understand insurgency and counter-insurgency as involving both a military and political aspect, in which the political is primary, with insurgency being primarily about building a counter-legitimacy to the state and counter-insurgency being primarily about the political isolation of insurgents through the creation of narratives, we can begin to see how such an understanding is useful to apply to American domestic politics. The George Floyd Uprising saw insurgents directly undermine the legitimacy of the existing state, especially the police, through both armed and political action. In turn, the state and establishment responded with both armed and political actions, the latter in the form of co-optation and narrative control.
But the connections between American counter-insurgency and domestic politics are not just on the discursive level. In “The other side of the COIN: counterinsurgency and community policing”, Kristian Williams provides an excellent overview of the material relationship between American military counter-insurgency programs and American policing. This is specifically evident with regard to trends towards the militarization of the police and so-called “Community Policing” initiatives. Williams demonstrates how, in a modern example of the “imperial boomerang”18, many of the methods employed by modern police forces were developed and refined by the American military, including during its occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. In turn, the military partnered with police forces to learn how to better control conquered populations, be they black people living in American cities or Iraqis living under American occupation in Iraq.19
Of particular interest is the role that NGOs play in this process. As was noted earlier, the U.S. Military makes special mention of NGOs in the process of counter-insurgency. An earlier version of the Manual, published in 2006 and authored by David Petraeus, is more explicit, remarking that “some of the best weapons for counterinsurgents do not shoot” and referring to NGOs as “force-multipliers”. Williams is able to show how NGOs were directly involved in de-escalating responses of the community to murders committed by American police in Oakland, as well as involved in anti-gang activities in Boston. Both of these separate efforts fall under the playbook of counter-insurgency.20
Before going in depth into the George Floyd Uprising, it is worthwhile looking at the “why” of counter-insurgency. Why is it that the police and military have developed a comprehensive strategy intended to undermine threats to the existing order? Fundamentally, the modern state exists to protect the interests of the capitalist class—namely the continuation of capital accumulation and exploitation—against the interests of everyone else. In turn, specific states exist to protect the specific interests of their specific capitalist classes. Thus anything that attempts to undermine capitalism, or the ability of capitalists to exploit, must be itself undermined. The state has a myriad of tools at its disposal to help with this process. Some are ideological (they convince people exploitation is in their own interest) whereas others, like the police, are repressive. Insofar as the goal of counter-insurgency is ultimately to protect the accumulation of capital, we should understand counter-insurgency as extending beyond just the actions of the repressive apparatuses of the state. What I will explore below is that in this case, counter-insurgency was a joint effort of the entire American ruling class, both inside and outside the state, to defang the George Floyd Uprising. The American ruling class used both violent and non-violent means to defang the uprising: they deployed what could be called a carrot-and-stick approach in order to protect the social order.
The Carrot…
The Media Narrative
In the days following the murder of George Floyd, the media worked tirelessly to defang the George Floyd Uprising. They did this not by creating reality through discourse, but by selectively and pointedly reporting on certain aspects of reality. As a result, they encouraged people to think about the uprising in specific ways, and in turned called them into action in specific ways. I will focus primarily on the Minneapolis Star Tribune; the narrative trends developed there were later repeated in media across the United States.
Initial media reaction to the uprising directly condemned property destruction. After a Target was looted on the night of May 27, the Star Tribune spent the following day reporting on the impact that riots would have on small businesses.21 True to form, the Star Tribune printed a call for peace from the family and partner of George Floyd22 as well as from “political, faith, community leaders” calling for an “end to riots.”23 The latter story was particularly interesting insofar as the group was called together for a conference by Minnesota governor Tim Walz, and included both church leaders and NGO managers. Here is an example of a top state official picking and choosing who counts as a “community leader” without direct input from the community. In turn, the Star Tribune reported on the meeting treating these externally hand-picked “community leaders” as though their legitimacy derived from the community itself.
In the following days, the Star Tribune shifted focus to the human cost of the riots to the local community. The publication blamed the riots for creating a food desert due to the closing of large corporate grocery stores.24 Rioters were also blamed for the lack of access to medicine now faced by the local community due to the closure of pharmacies.25 Rioters were alleged to have burned down nearly 200 units of affordable housing, thus exacerbating the housing crisis.26 The riots were also allegedly responsible for devastating Minneapolis’ famed Lake Street, home to immigrant-owned business and a hub, according to the Star Tribune, of multi-culturalism.27
In its discussion of the immediate impact of the uprising on the local community, not once did the Star Tribune go beyond surface-level condemnations of the rioters. Suddenly concerned with access to food and medication, the stories did not include discussions as to why the closure of a few grocery stores could create a food desert. There was no discussion on the increased price of food and wealth-disparity. There was no discussion on the monopolization of food sources by large chains. There was no discussion on the effects of for-profit healthcare on access to medicine. No discussions on gentrification and stagnant wages leading to the necessity of specifically designated “affordable” housing. No discussions on the context of the riots: namely 40 million unemployed Americans staring down a pandemic with miniscule government relief. No discussion of looting as a means of getting necessities such as medicine, food, and clothing; no discussion as to why Target and pharmacies became targets. Instead the riots were presented largely without context, as simply an irrational outburst of anger, alone causing problems to the community. Those fighting back against the existing order were blamed for the worst effects of the very order they fought against.
In addition to direct condemnation, the Star Tribune also took a more nuanced approach to the riots. Instead of the riots being an organic expression of community anger, they were presented—both by the media, and the government—as being the work of (usually white) “outside agitators”. Rioting was purported to be the work of secret white-supremacists that had infiltrated the protests in order to cause mayhem. In that same meeting of community leaders called together by Tim Walz on May 30, the executive director of the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage put it succinctly: “White people from other communities are coming into my community, our communities as some kind of perverse poetry, as if it wasn’t bad enough already. … Go home now. The fascists on the plan right now, turn around.”28 The Star Tribune reported on an Illinois man who had been arrested with explosives in Minneapolis, who had specifically traveled there to riot.29 The mayor of St Paul and the governor of Minnesota had each tweeted that the vast majority -80% to all- of the arrestees in the week preceding June 6 had been from out-of-state despite the fact that there was no evidence to back up such claims. The claims were so ludicrous that the Star Tribune ran a story walking back many of the claims about outside agitators; well after the damage had been done to the protests.30
The goal of these various media narratives—first, condemning the riots; second, emphasizing the damage to the community; and third, blaming outside agitators- was to drive a dual process of bifurcation within the protest movement. The goal of the ruling class was on the one hand to separate “peaceful” liberal protestors from the more radical element, both to avoid radicalization of the moderate protestors but also to isolate the radicals within the movement. Second, the goal was to lump the radical protestors together with apolitical opportunist looters, whether or not the latter group actually existed, and in turn ignore the radical critiques of both policing and society as a whole that the radicals put forward. Thus the establishment attempted to call into being two groups: a group of good, peaceful, moderate protestors; and a second group of opportunist, violent protestors who did not care about the injustice the protests were about. The tactics and message of the first group was to be lauded, whereas the tactics and message of the second group was to be condemned.
Meanwhile, seemingly out of nowhere, another narrative appeared in the media. Across both social and traditional media outlets, stories appeared showing police supporting the protests. Most famous were the images of police (and sometimes National Guard) kneeling with the protestors. Often times this was displayed as the result of a request from the “good protestors”, who were then portrayed as applauding police initiative. However, in this case reality cut through the media spin: the American police were simply too vicious for their “spontaneous” (more on this below) outpouring of empathy to be taken seriously. There were abundant accounts of the same police transitioning from kneeling to attacking protestors within the space of hours.
As the protests spread in the early weeks of June, it was no longer possible for the media to rely on the “outside agitator” platitude. Indeed, with protests in literally every major city in the United States, there was no “outside” for the agitators to come from. And with the utter inhumanity of the police on full display, stories of police taking a knee simply didn’t hold water. The media then turned to focusing almost exclusively on the efforts of liberal NGOs engaged in “rebuilding” efforts31, and the activities of the “good” protestors. The degree to which the “good” protestors were signal-boosted by the media is evident in the speed at which the “Defund the Police” slogan, itself a moderated version of the already moderate “abolish the police” demand, became the public rallying cry of the movement as a whole.32 Finally, towards mid-June, with the protests now largely contained and the radical element isolated, the media began largely ignoring the massive protests that are still occurring, instead only providing local coverage of incidental events.
While I have focused largely on the narrative created in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the same pattern (from demonization, to outside agitators, to focusing on the community cost, the good/bad protestor division, the police sympathy, to NGOs and liberals, to ultimately ignoring the movement) was a pattern that was repeated more-or-less within all major media sources in North America. Why was this the case? The similarity in editorial line between media companies does not indicate direct coordination between media onwers nor does it point to state intervention or censorship. Rather, insofar as media in North America is either owned by large corporations or run by the state, the commonality of interests that exists between rich owners and rich state managers is inevitably reflected in the editorial line of the media which they run.33 It makes total sense then that the media would relay a narrative which had as its effect the defanging of the George Floyd Uprising; such an action was absolutely within the interests of the large capitalists which control the media. The capitalist class, by owning the media and therefore controlling its content, was able to utilize media narratives as part of the counter-insurgency effort against the George Floyd Uprising.
In the case of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the connection between ownership and editorial line could not be clearer. Glen Taylor, the billionaire former state senator, admitted as much when he bought the newspaper in 2014. In an interview with MinnPost, he stated that his ownership of the paper would result in the editorial line being less liberal.34 It is unsurprising then that the overall editorial position of the paper reflects Taylor’s public position, namely that the problem is not specifically law enforcement and that protests are only legitimate if they are peaceful.35 Insofar as the George Floyd Uprising threatened the existing order in Minneapolis, an order that Glen Taylor benefitted from, the Star Tribune would come out against the uprising. This same process played out across the United States over the course of the uprising.
The Copaganda Machine
No account of how the media treated the George Floyd Uprising would be complete without a discussion of something that is often overlooked in accounts of reactionary media spin: the absolutely massive public relations machine employed by the police themselves. While it is possible that the speed with which stories of police “taking a knee” with protestors went viral was entirely natural, it is far more likely that in the wake of the largest anti-police protests in a generation that the police PR machine jumped into overdrive.
The goal of police public relations (PR) is, like any public relations campaign, to influence how the public views the police. In one article written for Police One, the largest English-language online community of police boasting literally tens of thousands of members, the point of police PR is described as “to establish a positive relationship with the community before an incident occurs.” The point of PR is directly contextualized to counteract the public’s reactions to racist police terror: “Events dating back to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, Rodney King, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray and others have been covered extensively in the media and have tarnished the reputation of many agencies. The public relations team must establish or repair the image of the agency within the community.”36 In another article on the same website, another officer describes the utility of “branding” (using a PR campaign to build a police “brand”) insofar as it allows police departments to control messaging and make clear a department’s “value proposition.”37 The goal of branding is to build preconceptions about the role of police, thus filtering any observations through the preconceived image of how police should act. This allows the police to have greater impunity in their actions, as anything they do is seen immediately through the lens of police being good and necessary protectors.
On the surface this seems fairly obvious and innocuous. All firms employ PR strategies in one form or another, in which the firm seeks to use the media to influence public reaction to the firm. However if we consider the social role of police, namely a repressive apparatus of the capitalist state designed to protect the conditions which allow for exploitation, the police use of PR becomes more sinister. Police directly attempt to manipulate public perceptions of their actions in their favour, including racist murder.
How widespread is the police use of PR? It is difficult to say. An examination of several police budgets over the past years of cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Toronto turned up little information; the police are remarkably good at concealing precisely what they spend their money on. There is some scattered information though that suggests that the police spend a staggering amount on PR. For instance, in 2016 the Denver Police Department was revealed to have spent $1.3 million over three years on its “media relations unit”.38 The Metropolitan Police in the UK had, in 2015, a 10 million pound annual PR budget that employed 100 communications staff, with a police across the UK spending 36 million pounds annually on PR.39 The LAPD, rather than just employing a Public Information Officer (PIO), has an entire Public Relations Unit.40 In Toronto, the 2019 police budget requested an additional $7.9 million to be partially used on nine new positions in the Corporate Communications Unit, increasing the total staff from 16 to 25, to be used to “help increase capabilities in public relations, internal communication and digital strategy.”41 And in 2020, the NYPD allotted $3.2 million for public relations, in order to tell their “side of the story.”42
Direct police department expenses on PR are just one of the PR avenues available to police. Police unions also hire PR firms to improve the image of their officers or to advance specific goals.43 Individual police officers can also hire PR firms to represent them in times of need. One such service, Cop PRotect, allows officers to pay $50 per month for guaranteed representation if something should go wrong. In a story placed in Police Magazine, the need for such a service is related directly to the Ferguson Uprising:
Cops today are completely at the mercy of activists who don’t care about the truth … Darren Wilson was nearly murdered and now lives in hiding, while the man who tried to kill him is declared a hero by activists. Cop PRotect gives cops like Darren Wilson a trusted friend to tell their stories in ways agency information officers, union representatives and the media cannot or will not.44
In this case, the firm was created directly to mitigate community blowback against individual officers in the wake of racist police terror.
While the amount that is spent on pro-police PR is hard to find, the indirect effects make it more obvious. Indeed, there exists an entire parasitic cottage industry of pro-police PR firms and consulting services, which exist solely to increase public perceptions in the police. For instance, a quick search turned up John Guilfoil Public Relations which specializes in the public sector, including the police. A testimonial from the chief of the Massachusetts Police Department states that the firm “provides an extremely valuable service to those agencies that want to be proactive in … getting out a positive message to the community.”45 PolicePR in Indiana offers a Public Information Officer boot camp, in partnership with the Greenwood Police Department.46 Melissa Agnes, a crisis management strategist who has been featured on Police One, has a whole series of articles and talks dealing specifically with police misconduct, ranging from “Discussing the Divide Between Police and Their Communities” to “Discussing The #Ferguson Crisis with Tim Burrows”.47 None of these firms or services would exist if the police were not paying for them.
Police PR strategies are not limited to traditional media. To give the strategies a more organic feel, police forces and their hired PR firms make frequent use of social media in order to help control the narrative around their actions. Police Chief Magazine warns officers that “Hiding and Hoping is Not a PR Strategy”; police forces not only need to monitor social media to see what perception of the police force is after an incident, but must also build “a social media presence”. This latter point can include spreading information about a suspect in the event that video showing police misconduct spreads.48 As part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s ‘Community Oriented Policing Services’ (COPS) Strategic Communication Practices guide, there is an entire section on the importance of social media.49 Another article on Police One suggests that police departments send officers onto Reddit, both to get ahead of a story, but also to intervene in the discussions as police.50 These efforts can be bolstered by using “community outreach programs” to “build an online army of supporters.”51
Lest anyone think that the police simply use social media to inform their audience about their activities, the police consciously use social media to manipulate public opinion during moments of crisis. Taken from another Police One article (a fantastic resource for those wanting to understand the mindset of police), this one published ominously on May 28, 2020, titled “12 things every police department’s civil unrest plan needs”, there is an entire section on social media. Departments are instructed to be aware that protestors can use social media to amplify and coordinate their activity; departments should also be aware and be ready to counter those that would “lower the perception of [their] department.” If that fails, there’s always the National Guard.52 Force Science News published an article/advertisement featuring Melissa Agnes in 2018, which advised departments to have prepared a ‘Communications Bible’ to help navigate crises such as “officer-involved shootings”.53 In a mid-June Police One leadership briefing, after weeks of anti-police protests, authors mockingly reflected: “Now do you recognize the power of social media?” arguing that police “must start viewing… social media as an integral tool in policing.”54
All this is to say there exists a massive and highly coordinated police PR machine, which the police use to try and directly control media narratives in their favour. They do this as part of a broader effort to maintain the current social order. While it is impossible to prove this soon, I strongly suspect that it was this machine which was responsible for the flood of sympathetic stories about the police that featured prominently across traditional and social media in early June. Despite the best efforts of the police, their unions, and their employed PR firms, they were unable to shift the broader media narrative for more than a few days; the brutal actions of police across the United States spoke for themselves and undermined attempts to portray the police in a positive light.
While ultimately unsuccessful, the wave of pro-police media in early June gave credibility to the more moderate argument that the institution of policing itself is not the problem, but rather that it is only some “bad apples” amidst an otherwise salvageable police force. This in turn gave more ideological power to moderate and liberal elements, the so-called “good protestors”, within the broader protest movement. To tie this back into counter-insurgency, control over information in the form of both narrative construction and information dissemination is one of the main tools of counter-insurgency strategies. The police consciously did just this, and in the process strengthened the moderates within the movement.
The Non-Profit Industrial Complex
As noted earlier, the U.S. military considers NGO partnerships to be a vital part of counter-insurgency efforts. Much has been written about the negative effects of non-profits on social movements. In the classic collection of essays titled The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex, Andrea Smith argues that capital and the capitalist state use nonprofits to: monitor and control social movements, divert public resources into private hands, manage and control dissent, redirect activist efforts towards careerism and away from mass-based modes of organizing, allow corporations to mask exploitation through philanthropy, and encourage social movements to model themselves in terms of structure and politics after capitalist models.55 For the purposes of this essay, I want to focus on two areas: first, how NGOs have a moderating effect on the politics of a movement. Second, I will talk about how NGOs frequently work with the police to protect the current social order under the guise of changing it.
How is it that non-profits are able to moderate social movements? The capitalist class is well aware of their own interests and spends an inordinate amount of money defending them. In the process, they create philanthropic foundations. These philanthropic foundations not only allow capitalists to transfer wealth inter-generationally without taxation (giving their children positions in the foundations) but also fund charitable activities, such as non-profits. There is a catch though: the capitalists will not fund anything that does not fit their interests, namely the continuation of exploitation. They are happy, for instance, to fund affordable housing initiatives insofar as those initiatives do not tackle the root causes of homelessness, namely private property. Capitalist foundations therefore provide resources to NGOs which act in line with their interests. In turn, NGOs knowingly moderate themselves in order to better secure resources. Furthermore respectable NGOs can become the public face of a movement, effectively forcing the more radical organizations out of the public eye.
The Civil Rights and anti-police movements are full of examples of the moderating effects of NGOs. For instance, in the 1960s white philanthropist Stephen Currier set up the Council for United Civil Rights Leadership in order to channel foundation funding to Civil Rights groups. The so-called ‘Big Six’ were brought together; of the six, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the most radical of the groups, received the least amount of funding. More radical groups, such as the Nation of Islam, were completely excluded. In 1963 Malcolm X specifically criticized the Big Six and the Council for United Civil Rights Leadership in his famous ‘Message to the Grass Roots’ speech in which he reflected on the March on Washington which had taken place earlier that year.56 The goal of these maneuvers by white philanthropists was clear: fund the more moderate element of the Civil Rights movement to avoid the movement taking a radical turn and undermining the ability for American capitalism to operate.57
Fast forward 50 years, and the same pattern reoccurs. In Oakland in 2009, non-profits directly intervened to deradicalize the response to the killing of Oscar Grant. Ahead of a major rally in January 2009, the Oakland police arranged meetings with various nonprofit and church leaders in order to defang the protests before they even began.58 Religious leaders asked their congregations to not attend the protests. A coalition of NGOs came together and formed the Coalition Against Police Execution (CAPE). CAPE explicitly called for a lack of militancy in their protests, and stood as a physical barrier between police and protestors. 59 In turn, CAPE became the public, legitimate face of the protests, which was reinforced through media coverage.
The uprising in 2014 in Ferguson saw a similar process play itself out. There the NGO influence was given an organizational existence in the form of Black Lives Matter. I want to be clear here; when speaking of Black Lives Matter I am talking about the official organization and not the broader movement of the same name. Black Lives Matter, while first conceived of in 2013, organized its first major action in 2014 with the Black Lives Matter Freedom Ride in response to the killing of Michael Brown by the Ferguson police. Black Lives Matter became the public face of the movement. Despite the Ferguson uprising originating in riots, Black Lives Matter and other organizations planned a series of actions over the course of the summer of 2014 that channeled local activism into safer and less rebellious avenues.
Following the Ferguson uprising, moderate elements of the Black Lives Matter movement became a relatively safe outlet for liberals to support and into which the capitalist class could channel outrage. Black Lives Matter and the constellation of new organizations and networks around it received an absolutely immense amount of donations from larger donors like The Ford Foundation and George Soros.60 The more liberal elements of the movement, able to secure donations, were able to take centre-stage. For instance, one recipient, the Organization for Black Struggle, used some of its funding to create the Hands Up Coalition. This coalition popularized the “hands up, don’t shoot” slogan used by protestors; this ran against slogans by more militant black power activists such as “arms up, shoot back” and “fists up, fight back”. More radical yet equally active groups, such as the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, received no funding. In 2016, Black Lives Matter and 27 other organizations, as part of the Movement for Black Lives, issued a platform of demands titled A Vision for Black Lives. Rather than a comprehensive plan and program to mobilize the masses to fight for their own liberation, the document is a set of policy guidelines. The effect is that efforts are taken off the streets and channeled into traditional power structures where they are ultimately destined to fail.
The founders of Black Lives Matter were first introduced to each other through an NGO known as Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD). The board of directors of BOLD, those who decide its political direction, is made up of managers of other NGOS.61 BOLD also receives an immense sum of money from private donors, such as through the “philanthropic intermediary” known as Borealis Philanthropy62 and through Funders for Justice.63 This latter group, also created in response to the Ferguson Uprising, in turn receives funding from The Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations; hardly groups interested in a radical transformation of the social order or the end of exploitation. I don’t bring this up to allege a conspiracy that Black Lives Matter is being secretly run by The Ford Foundation, but rather to show that even Black Lives Matter has its origins within the non-profit industrial complex milieu, which in turn effects its politics. Turning back to the George Floyd Uprising, it is unsurprising that in a recent Reddit Ask-Me-Anything, Kailee Scales, the Managing Director for Black Lives Matter, condemned the riots and announced efforts to channel the George Floyd Uprising into voter registration and “civic engagement” through the #WhatMatters2020 campaign.64
The ways in which non-profits have attempted to moderate explosions of rage during the George Floyd Uprising are too many to list. One example I want to focus on, however, is particularly telling. On May 30, two days after the burning of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis, a local non-profit called Pillsbury United Communities had a press conference. Pillsbury United Communities is an incredibly well established NGO; founded in 1879, it runs a number of outreach and education programs, community programs (such as free COVID-19 testing), as well as “social enterprises” including a grocery store. The press conference on May 30 brought together Jamie Foxx, Stephen Jackson, BLM activist Tamika Mallory, alongside George Floyd’s family. Speakers were explicit in their calls for peaceful protests, but generally did not condemn the riots. A peaceful rally followed.65 Thus at the height of the militant protests, people were asked by “legitimate” community leaders to temper their anger and engage in traditionally and easily ignored protests. These calls were amplified by liberals outside the community and the media.
A few days after the rally, Pillsbury United Communities used George Floyd’s death to issue a fundraising call; it is unclear from their website how the money will be used to ensure “Justice for George Floyd”.66 But individual donations are not the only way that Pillsbury United Communities raises funds. It also receives donations from massive foundations such as the Greater Twin Cities United Way, the Minneapolis Foundation, and the St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation. The United Way, for instance, acts as a “philanthropic intermediary”, collection donations from large corporations, and then granting money to non-profits. In this specific case, the money given to Pillsbury United Communities comes from sources such as 3M, U.S. Bank, Cargill, and Target.67 The latter, notably, also provides hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to police foundations.68 One can see the issue of an organization fighting for justice against the police having similar funding sources to the police themselves. It is also unlikely that the capitalist class would fund those capable of truly undermining it.
That an NGO intervened in a mass struggle to both channel the movement in a more liberal direction while monopolizing resources is not particularly surprising. What is particularly interesting though is Pillsbury United Communities’ connection to community policing. A 2006 report by the Minneapolis Department of Health & Family Support lists Waite House, a Pillsbury United Communities site, as a “Weed & Seed Safe Haven”.69 Weed and Seed programs, for context, gained prominence in 1992 after the Rodney King riots as a way to connect police and community leaders in order to ostensibly combat gang violence70; they made cohesive the militarization tactics (weed) and community policing tactics (seed) employed in counter-insurgency efforts.71 In December 2014, the FBI gave Pillsbury United Communities its “Director’s Community Leadership Award”, an annual award given to groups for crime prevention efforts.72 Then-president and chief executive, Chanda Smith Baker, accepted the award. Coincidentally, Chanda Smith Baker—now working for the Minneapolis Foundation—also sits on the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s newspeak titled “Working Group on Police-Involved Deadly Force Encounters”. The goal of the working group was to “identify ways to reduce deadly force encounters with law enforcement”73. Members of the group included the Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, the Minnesota Attorney General, Philando Castile’s (killed by police in Minnesota in 2016) uncle, and other judge’s, academics, politicians, and NGO managers. Tragically and ironically, the working group released its findings in February 2020; that George Floyd was murdered, just a few months later in a “police-involved deadly force encounter”, demonstrates the extent to which so-called community policing is useful to the community.
One final interesting link between NGOs and the police in Minneapolis: as mentioned earlier, Chanda Smith Baker, after working for Pillsbury United Communities, went on to work as the Senior Vice President, Impact for The Minneapolis Foundation. The current president and CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation is R.T. Rybak, who was also the former mayor of Minneapolis. R.T. Rybak also sits on the board of a company called Benchmark Analytics: an IT company which has designed a system capable of predicting when officers will become problematically violent. Rybak therefore has a direct material interest in “reforming” the police. In an article written on June 2, titled “I Was the Mayor of Minneapolis and I Know Our Cops Have a Problem”, Rybak recalls surveying the damage to Minneapolis after the riots with Chanda Smith Baker, before advertising his firm’s solution to police violence.74 Unsurprisingly he emphasizes the humanity of the police, and he sees the solution as being community policing informed by predicative behavior technology.
The organizational and interpersonal links between NGO managers, politicians, police leadership, “community leaders”, and the board members of large capitalist firms points to the existence of a ruling capitalist class. The above is just a small illustration of how the ruling class rules in Minneapolis.
To summarize all of this: Pillsbury United Communities is an established, well-respected local NGO. It is part of the non-profit industrial complex, relying on philanthropic intermediaries for much of its funding, which in turn are funded by massive corporations. It came out very vocally in the early stages of the George Floyd Uprising, urging a more liberal and institutional approach to activism as opposed to the riots. And, it has close ties to the Minneapolis Police Department and state police through community policing programs. It is just one textbook example of many of how NGOs act as elements of a counter-insurgency strategy.
The Democrats
The Democrats have been referred to as the “graveyard of social movements” insofar as they absorb, coopt, and disorganize them.75 Their approach to the George Floyd Uprising is no different. What the Democratic Party sought to do in the wake of the George Floyd Uprising was a combination of repression (in those places in which it exercised power, such as Minneapolis, New York, L.A., etc.) and coopt its energies into the Biden 2020 campaign. Given the unpopularity of Biden and the overall increasing disinterest in electoral politics by much of the left the attempt to coopt the movement, at least ostensibly, has been unsuccessful. It is, however, still worth examining in order to paint a full picture of the counter-insurgency campaign against the uprising.
At the beginning of the uprising, the Democratic Party machine jumped into motion but was unsure how to act. While top Democrat strategists spoke to media about how the uprising could affect the election76 (indicating that they were in fact working on a response), there was little in the way of official high-level statement or actions for almost a week. Then on June 2 two fairly major events occurred. First, Biden publicly brought Julian Castro into his campaign; Castro had been a vocal proponent of liberal police reforms during his bid to become the Democratic nominee for president.77 Second, Pelosi, the multi-millionaire Speaker of the House, asked the Congressional Black Caucus to draft a series of police reforms.78
On June 8, following a ridiculous display in which Pelosi and other top Democrats took a knee wearing Ghanaian kente cloths, the Justice in Policing Act was revealed. The act is fairly milquetoast—far behind the nebulous demands of the uprising—and includes provisions for more easily prosecuting police in cases of brutality, mandatory body cameras, as well as a ban on chokeholds. The Act does absolutely nothing to abolish or even defund police departments. 79 Nor is the act likely to become law; even if the act was to pass the Republican-majority Senate, Trump has announced his attention to veto it.80
Rather than an accident, the unlikelihood of the bill passing is a feature, one of the ways in which so-called “checks and balances” help protect the current order. The Democrats know this; had it been likely to pass the bill would have been even more muted. The inaction of the Democrats in the face of the George Floyd Uprising is not surprising; they are one of the two parties that have overseen the construction and maintenance of the white-supremacist order in the United States. Biden is himself a career segregationist and author of a 1994 crime bill81 which was a cornerstone in the construction of the modern for-profit prison behemoth.82 The Congressional Black Caucus has itself helped to make the police a “protected class”, and also contributed to the militarization of police through the 1033 program.83
Despite the lack of success of the official Democrat cooptation attempt of the George Floyd Uprising, I want to point out one of the more insidious ways that the Democrats are attempting to coopt outrage against police murders through social movements themselves. It is worth first pointing out that Alicia Garza, one of the founders of Black Lives Matter, is a supporter of the centrist-wing of the Democrats, specifically Elizabeth Warren.84 Black Lives Matter has recently launched a campaign called #WhatMatters2020. The goal of the campaign is to bring “BLM supporters and allies to the polls in the 2020 U.S Presidential Election to build collective power and ensure candidates are held accountable for the issues that systematically and disproportionately impact Black and under-served communities across the nation.”85 A campaign video calls on people to vote for an America where “police are held accountable” and “where we have access to quality healthcare”. The problem with this campaign, of course, is that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are even pretending to deliver on promises like this. Biden does not support medicare for all, and was an architect of the current racist criminal justice system. The #WhatMatters2020 campaign is a cynical sheepdog campaign, bringing black people angry at the current injustices of American white-supremacist capitalism back into the Democrats.
Invasion of the Liberals
Earlier in this article, I mentioned that the media was attempting to call into existence a group of “good”, peaceful protestors. I want to spend more time now talking about this process. Ideology is both produced by practice, but also exists as a way of calling particular types of people into activity.86 When the media began focusing almost exclusively on “good” protestors, it was at first inventing this category out of almost thin air; the line it was drawing was an artificial one. But by putting forward this ideological pole, the media called into action people who had hitherto not been involved. The media, alongside notable liberal politicians and other establishment figures, created a group of liberal protestors out of inactive liberals who now saw themselves and their own political predilections reflected in the ongoing uprising. Included in these efforts by the media and liberal establishment figures is a now-famous essay by former president Barrack Obama, posted to Medium on June 1, in which he said he supported the protests, condemned violence, and urged reform efforts to be focused on institutional channels.87
The flip side of the liberal “call to action” is that it also acts as a safeguard against radicalization. When reality confronts ideology, it is often ideology that is changed. Reality forces a rupture in one’s worldview which can lead to radicalization. In this case it became difficult to substantiate the story of a good, neutral, and protective state in the face of ubiquitous police violence against even peaceful protestors. If reality can be changed or if powerful narratives can reinforce ideology, ideology is cemented rather than discarded. In this case, liberalism as a worldview was able to escape challenge due to the emergence of establishment liberals in support of the protests.
The result of the liberalization of the protests on public opinion is interesting. By mid-June, 67% of Americans reportedly supported the ongoing protests. The racial breakdown was more stark: 60% of white people supported the protests, whereas 86% of black people supported them. Despite this, 59% of Americans (including 62% of white Americans compared with 43% of black Americans) believed that the protests were spurred on at least in part as a means for people to engage in criminal behavior.88 Thus the liberalization of the protests resulted in a situation in which the majority of a country deeply enmeshed in white supremacy supported protests proclaiming the value of black lives, despite the majority of the country materially benefitting from that same unjust racial hierarchy. That major politicians like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former Governor of Massachusetts and presidential candidate Mitt Romney joined the protests—both politicians with significant power to change the conditions against which they protested- signals only that the political message of the uprising had shifted in the popular consciousness away from “dismantle white supremacy” to the base level of “black people are human”. That nearly one third of America could not even support such a basic affirmation of humanity is telling.
The liberal invasion had three main effects on the uprising. First, the influx of liberals into the rallies not only led to the proliferation of protests and an increase in attendance, but also to their pacification. Protestors began to self-police, modifying their tactics in line with the interests of the existing order. Protestors made sure to demarcate themselves and their actions as “peaceful”, thus robbing themselves of even the specter of militancy. To a certain extent there is a degree of “selection bias” here; militant protestors are more likely to be arrested, and therefore over time the composition of a protest will naturally become more liberal. Police are aware of this and consciously seek to tie up activist time and resources in legal proceedings.
Internally to the protests, liberal protestors acted like “peace police”, disrupting the activities of militants. Examples included liberals in Washington DC turning over a “rioter” to the police (at an anti-police march!) at the end of May,89 as well as the doxxing by liberal activists of Rayshard Brook’s girlfriend, pegged as an outside agitator.90 She is accused of setting fire to the Wendy’s outside of which her partner was murdered by police. Another high-profile example of the liberalization of the protests on the tactical level is Al Sharpton’s call for a march on Washington in August, which took place at the height of militant protests occurring in Washington D.C..91 Such a call, not to support the existing protests but to postpone them, was a calculated attempt to de-escalate the uprising.
Second, the influx of liberals into the movement has paved the way for false victories. By this I mean superficial gains that ultimately leave the underlying power structure which gave rise to the protests unchallenged. Included here is the “Black Lives Matter” street mural in Washington D.C., various corporate black-washing campaigns, the changing of band names, and the cancelling of shows like COPS. One notes the irony of the mayor of New York ordering that “Black Lives Matter” be painted outside of Trump Towers while overseeing a police department which brutalizes black people and and while also opposing efforts to defund the NYPD.
Third, the influx of liberals into the movement had an effect on defanging the demands of the movement. Black Lives Matter was quick to issue the demand to defund the police in the early days of the George Floyd Uprising: they explicitly pushed for a defunding of the police, without going into detail as to what that would entail.92 Other activists seized on the space this opened up and stated that “defund” meant “defund everything”. They argued that the police were not reformable and therefore had to be abolished.93 What followed was a discussion in the media about whether or not “defund” actually meant “defund”. There was no shortage of liberals assuring other concerned liberals that defunding didn’t actually mean that there would be no police.94 While Minneapolis has since begun steps to disband their police force, demands in other locations seem to ask for a portion of police budgets to be re-allocated to community resources, in line with the Movement for Black Lives policy demands.95
The conceptual slippage of “defund” has not gone unnoticed by the police themselves. In a June 18 article on Police One, Mike Walker, a police officer for 27 years, wrote that “defunding is really just a way of saying reduced funding.”96 In the same article he offers assurance to worried police officers by noting that budget cuts were already on the agenda due to COVID-19, and that most municipalities legally cannot function without police due to their municipal charters.
That at least some police are fine with temporarily defunding the police speaks to the heart of just how defanged a demand “defund the police” actually is. But “abolish the police” as a slogan absent a critique of the conditions that give rise to the police is itself a demand that does not cut to the heart of the matter. The police exist because capitalism requires force to defend inequality and exploitation. Without ending exploitation, there will still need to be some form of coercive apparatus to ensure the continued existence of exploitation. Thus the coercive functions of the police will be offloaded to other state apparatuses; there will still be violent, racist coercion whether or not the police exist. This is something that already happens; consider, for instance, the racist terror that child welfare services across Canada (not armed, not police) put Indigenous people through for years. The George Floyd Uprising opened the space for discussions about the fundamental nature of society, about capitalism, imperialism, and racial inequality in America. Liberals shifted the overton window to exclude visions of radical transformation, instead focusing on the degree to which police should be defunded. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s now viral Instagram post which stated that police abolition looks like white suburbia, an atomized capitalist dystopia, makes total sense in this context.97
The liberal invasion resulted in a defanging of protest tactics, results, and even the demands themselves. This process, which was aided by the police, the media, and “legitimate” community leaders, was nothing less than the political side of a counter-insurgency campaign by the American ruling class directed against the George Floyd Uprising. Thus a movement which began with the burning of a police station has been transformed into one of requesting minor amendments to municipal budgets.
…And the Stick
The majority of the article has focused on the less-obvious methods that the American ruling class has used in its counter-insurgency efforts against the George Floyd Uprising. However, while counter-insurgency is more effective if it involves elements of soft power, no counter-insurgency effort is complete without open repression. The efforts against the George Floyd Uprising are no exception.
It is hard to overstate the scale of the police operation against protestors over the past month. For instance, by June 2 there already been over 11 000 arrests of protestors.98 The volume of arrests was used as an excuse to temporarily suspend habeus corpus in New York.99 There have been numerous documented arrests and attacks on journalists from even liberal platforms such as CNN. To my knowledge there are no up to date figures on the total number of arrests. In terms of the intensity of the police response, over the past month there have been countless scenes of police using tear gas and pepper spray to clear otherwise peaceful protests. An online database has logged over 670 individual incidents of police brutality caught on video.100 Police have killed at least four protestors over the course of the uprising. Many more have been maimed.101 As a result there are at least 40 different lawsuits currently underway against police departments for brutality during the George Floyd Uprising.102
As if the level of direct repression was not enough, there has also been an increase in surveillance of activists. A recent leak, titled “Blue Leaks”, has revealed that the FBI monitored social media extensively during the protests and forward information it thought relevant to local police departments.103 FBI agents have also harassed activists after they attended recent protests against police brutality.104 The goal of FBI harassment in general is to intimidate protestors and organizers into inactivity as a means of disorganizing movements. These most recent incidents are reminiscent of FBI surveillance and intimidation of the anti-war movement and COINTELPRO.
The extraordinary level of police terror was not enough to contain the uprising. The National Guard was deployed to 31 states and Washington D.C.. This involved over 62 000 soldiers.105 The National Guard was itself involved in the violent repression of the protests.106 Over 200 cities imposed a curfew, which affected more than 60 million people.107 Trump went as far as to threaten to use the American military to impose order on cities where the protests could not be contained by conventional repression.108
One final aspect to overt repression of protests which needs to be included is the role of far right organizations and militia groups. While these are ostensibly distinct from the state, there is significant overlap and cooperation between police forces and far right organizations; a now infamous 2006 FBI report details the extent to which white supremacists have infiltrated police departments.109 For instance, in early June police in Oregon were caught on video coordinating with the far-right Proud Boys to help them avoid arrest after they intimidated George Floyd protestors.110 Much has also been written about the so-called Boogaloo Movement, which has targeted anti-police brutality protests.111
There have been many attacks by the far right on recent protests. Incidents include a mob of armed counter-protestors in Bethel, Ohio which attacked a black lives matter rally searching for “antifa”.112 The KKK has also been active in these efforts: they attacked a black lives matter rally in Nevada,113 and a local KKK leader in Virginia drove his car into a protest in mid-June.114 The autonomous zone set up in Seattle has also been a magnet for far-right attacks; on June 15 the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer entered the zone and beat a man,115 and there have been five shootings directed at the zone in recent weeks, somehow allowed by police. The most recent one resulted in the death of two attackers and injuries to a 14 year old boy.116 Far right groups have also announced a plan to “retake” the zone on July 4.117
Police and national guard brutality, police harassment and surveillance, threats of military intervention, and attacks by the far right all serve as the coercive elements to the American establishment’s counter-insurgency efforts against the George Floyd Uprising. Without the threat of violence the “carrot” side of the “carrot and stick” formula would not be as attractive. The end goal however, is the same: the maintenance and defense of an order defined by exploitation and white supremacy.
Conclusion
Over the course of this article what I have sought to do is outline some of the ways that the American ruling sought to defend itself during the course of one of the largest threats to its own existence in recent years. I have shown how combined and coordinated efforts by: police forces, the military, capitalist media, NGOs, the Democrats, far-right groups, and liberal establishment figures have all combined to undermine the George Floyd Uprising. Thus far these efforts seem to have been rather successful.
The beautiful thing about history, however, is that it is never predetermined. The future is not written. While the establishment has a mind-boggling array of resources and sophisticated counter-insurgency techniques at its disposal, it is not infallible. Indeed, it does (and has!) made mistakes. It is these mistakes that provide openings for revolutionary forces to intervene and change the existing social order. Even the outcome of these protests is not yet decided: they continue, and the protestors become increasingly sophisticated in fighting back. The massive uprising of the past few weeks has shown the degree to which the people do possess power. But the events have also shown the pitfalls into which movements of resistance can fall. By writing this article I hope to have exposed some of these pitfalls, so that liberation struggles now and in the future can avoid them.
Notes
1. ↩ VOA News, “Minnesota Calls National Guard to Quell Violent Protests in Minneapolis”.
2. ↩ Kandist Mallett, “The Black Lives Matter Revolution Can’t Be Co-Opted By Police and Lawmakers”.
3. ↩ Kristian Williams, “The other side of the COIN: counterinsurgency and community policing,” Interface, Vol 3, No 1, May 2011.
4. ↩ Aaron Morrison and Tim Sullivan, “Minneapolis overwhelmed again by protests over Floyd death,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 30, 2020.
5. ↩ Reid Forgrave, “On patrol in St. Paul, National Guard waits ‘for the scales to tip’”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 2, 2020.
6. ↩ Jamie Ehrlich, “The hidden history of the secret presidential bunker,” CNN Politics.
7. ↩ Hilary Hanson, “NYC Transit Union Backs Bus Drivers Who Refuse To Transport Protestors For NYPD”. HuffPost U.S., May 30, 2020.
8. ↩ Joe DeManuelle-Hall, “West Coast Dockers Stop Work to Honor George Floyd”. Labor Notes, June 11, 2020.
9. ↩ Matthew Impelli, “54 Percent of Americans Think Burning Down Minneapolis Police Precinct Was Justified After George Floyd’s Death,” Newsweek, June 6, 2020.
10. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, GL-5.
11. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, xiii.
12. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, I-7.
13. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, I-8.
14. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, III-6.
15. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, III-14.
16. ↩ Feinberg, M., Willer, R., & Kovacheff, C. (2020). “The activist’s dilemma: Extreme protest actions reduce popular support for social movements”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication.
17. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, III-5.
18. ↩ Connor Woodman, “The Imperial Boomerang: How colonial methods of repression migrate back to the metropolis”.
19. ↩ Kristian Williams, “The other side of the COIN: counterinsurgency and community policing,” Interface, Vol 3, No 1, May 2011.
20. ↩ Williams, “The other side of the COIN: counterinsurgency and community policing”.
21. ↩ Kavita Kumar and Miguel Otarola, “Small-business owners pick up the pieces after night of rage, destruction”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 28, 2020.
22. ↩ Paul Walsh, “Seeing his city on fire would ‘devastate’ George Floyd, girlfriend says”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 28, 2020.
23. ↩ Briana Bierschbach, “Minnesota’s political, faith, community leaders plead for an end to riots”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 30, 2020.
24. ↩ John Ewoldt, “Minneapolis neighborhoods face food desert after looting closes multiple stores”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 2, 2020.
25. ↩ Kavita Kumar and Adam Belz, “In riot-hit Twin Cities neighborhoods, a hole where pharmacies used to be”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 2, 2020.
26. ↩ Jim Buchta, “Minneapolis vandalism targets include 189-unit affordable housing development.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 28, 2020.
27. ↩ Kathleen Hennessy and Tim Sullivan, “Unrest devastates a city’s landmark street of diversity.” Minneapolis Star Tribune. May 31, 2020.
28. ↩ Briana Bierschbach, “Minnesota’s political, faith, community leaders plead for an end to riots”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 30, 2020.
29. ↩ Andy Mannix, “’We came to riot’: Illinois man livestreamed lighting fires, handing out explosives in Minneapolis, charges say”. Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 1, 2020.
30. ↩ Torey Van Oot. “’Fog of conflict’: Minnesota officials responding to George Floyd protests, violence helped spread of misinformation”. Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 6, 2020.
31. ↩ Kelly Smith, “Minneapolis, St. Paul foundations aim at rebuilding, criminal justice reform after riots.”. Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 5, 2020; “How To Give Back To Your Besieged Community”. CBS Minnesota, June 9, 2020.
32. ↩ Sam Levin. “Movement to defund police gains ‘unprecedented’ support across U.S..” The Guardian, June 4, 2020; Jack Kelly. “The Movement To Defund Or Disband Police: Here’s What You Need To Know Now.” Forbes, June 9, 2020.
33. ↩ Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent. Michael Parenti, Inventing Reality: The Politics of News Media.
34. ↩ Britt Robson, “New owner Glen Taylor: less liberal Star Tribune ahead.” MinnPost, April 16, 2014.
35. ↩ Chris Haynes. “Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor calls George Floyd’s death ‘a shame’ and ‘a tragedy’”. Yahoo Sports, May 28, 2020.
36. ↩ Dan Grossi, “Public relations in law enforcement: Is the PIO obsolete?” Police One, January 8, 2020.
37. ↩ W. Michael Phibbs, “Why your police department needs a brand.” Police One, September 7, 2017.
38. ↩ John Ferrugia, Brittany Freeman, Jason Foster. “Denver police defend public relations spending”. The Denver Channel, February 17, 2016.
39. ↩ William Turvill. “UK police forces spend more than £36m a year on PR and communications”. Press Gazette, May 1, 2015.
40. ↩ Los Angeles Police Department. “Public Relations Unit”, Official Site of The Los Angeles Police Department.
41. ↩ Mark Saunders, Chief of Police. “Toronto Police Service—2019 Operating Budget Request”.
42. ↩ Jake Offenhartz, “NYPD Defends Its Massive Budget As Social Services And Youth Programs Are Cut”. The Gothamist, May 15, 2020.
43. ↩ Joel Rub, David Zahniser. “L.A. police union hires PR firm in bid to win pay raises”. Los Angeles Times, January 10, 2015.
44. ↩ POL Staff. “PR Firm Launches Service to Defend Police Officers from Anti-Cop Activists.” Police Magazine, November 17, 2015.
45. ↩ John Guilfoil Public Relations. “Sectors We Serve”.
46. ↩ PolicePR.
47. ↩ Melissa Agnes. “Discussing the Divide Between Police and Their Communities, on The Police Podcast”. Melissa Agnes: Crisis Management Strategist. January 27, 2015; Melissa Agnes. “TCIP #011—Discussing The #Ferguson Crisis with Tim Burrows”. Melissa Agnes: Crisis Management Strategist. August 17, 2014.
48. ↩ Julie Parker. “Hiding and Hoping Is Not a PR Strategy.” Police Chief Magazine.
49. ↩ Darrel W. Stephens, Julia Hill, Sheldon Greenburg. Strategic Communication Practices: A Toolkit for Police Executives.
50. ↩ Sean Whitcomb, Jonah Spangenthal-Lee. “3 reasons your agency should be on Reddit.” Police One, May 2, 2019.
51. ↩ P1 Staff. “Roundtable: How to match your agency’s social media strategy with community needs”. Police One, May 2, 2019.
52. ↩ Heather R. Cotter. “12 things every police department’s civil unrest plan needs”. Police One, May 28, 2020.
53. ↩ “Are you ready for the crisis that may be heading your way?” Police One, July 5, 2018.
54. ↩ Yael Bar-tur, Mathew Rejis, “Now do you recognize the power of social media?”. Police One, June 12, 2020.
55. ↩ Andrea Smith, “Introduction”, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded, 3.
56. ↩ Malcolm X, “Message to the Grass Roots”. Black Past.
57. ↩ Netfa Freeman, “Movement Ferguson, Beware the Nonprofit Industrial Complex”. Black Agenda Report, January 21, 2015.
58. ↩ George Ciccariello-Maher, “Chronicle of a Riot Foretold”. Counterpunch, June 29, 2010.
59. ↩ Advance the Struggle. “Justice for Oscar Grant: A Lost Opportunity?”. Advance the Struggle, July 15, 2009.
60. ↩ Netfa Freeman, “Movement Ferguson, Beware the Nonprofit Industrial Complex”. Black Agenda Report, January 21, 2015.
61. ↩ BOLD. “Board”. BOLD.
62. ↩ Borealis Philanthropy. “Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity”.
63. ↩ BOLD (Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity) Funding Page.
64. ↩ “Let me be clear: we do not advocate violence in protests of any kind—not by any protester and not by police. We do not advocate or condone destruction of property. We believe in the value of human lives.” Reddit.
65. ↩ Patrick Reusse. “Stephen Jackson, other activists score with straight talk at Minneapolis City Hall rotunda.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 30, 2020.
66. ↩ Adair Mosley. “Justice for George Floyd”. Pillsbury United Communities, June 2, 2020.
67. ↩ Greater Twin Cities United Way. “Corporate Partners” .
68. ↩ Kari Paul. “How Target, Google, Bank of America and Microsoft quietly fund police through private donations”. The Guardian, June 18, 2020.
69. ↩ Minneapolis Department of Health & Family Support. “City of Minneapolis Weed & Seed Initiative”.
70. ↩ Community Capacity Development Office, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. Weed and Seed Implementation Manual.
71. ↩ Kristian Williams, “The other side of the COIN: counterinsurgency and community policing,” Interface, Vol 3, No 1, May 2011.
72. ↩ “FBI recognizes Pillsbury United Communities for its service to diverse neighborhoods.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, December 15, 2014.
73. ↩ Working Group on Police-Involved Deadly Force Encounters. “Executive Summary of Recommendations”, 2.
74. ↩ R. T. Rybak. “I Was the Mayor of Minneapolis and I Know Our Cops Have a Problem”. Benchmark Analytics, June 2, 2020.
75. ↩ August H. Nimtz. “The Graveyard of Progressive Social Movements: The Black Hole of the Democratic Party”. MR Online, May 9, 2017.
76. ↩ Brian Schwartz, “How Joe Biden’s leading VP contenders stack up in the wake of protests over George Floyd’s death”. CNBC, June 1, 2020; Daniel Strauss, “’A national crisis’: how the killing of George Floyd is changing U.S. politics”. The Guardian, May 30, 2020; Nicholas Fandos, “Congress Plans Hearings on Racial Violence and Use of Force by the Police”. New York Times, May 29, 2020.
77. ↩ Suzanne Gamboa, “Joe Biden pulls Julian Castro into campaign, asks for help to ‘tackle police reform’”. NBC News, June 2, 2020.
78. ↩ Kelsey Snell, Claudia Grisales. “Pelosi Asks Black Caucus To Come Up With Police Reforms Following Protests”. NPR, June 2, 2020.
79. ↩ Catie Edmondson, “Democrats Unveil Sweeping Bill Targeting Police Misconduct and Racial Bias”, The New York Times, June 8, 2020.
80. ↩ Lisa Mascaro, “Police overhaul dims, but House Democrats push ahead on vote”. Police One, June 25, 2020.
81. ↩ German Lopez, “The controversial 1994 crime law that Joe Biden helped write, explained”. Vox, June 20, 2019.
82. ↩ Glen Ford, “The Movement Gets BIG—and Its Enemies Reveal Themselves”. Black Agenda Report, June 4, 2020.
83. ↩ Danny Haiphong, “The Rebellion Against Police Repression Must Guard Against ALL Enemies, Whether Red, Blue, or Green”, Black Agenda Report, June 17, 2020.
84. ↩ Justine Coleman, “Warren endorsed by Black Lives Matter co-founder’s Black to the Future Action Fund”, The Hill, February 20, 2020.
85. ↩ “BLM’s #WhatMatters2020”, Black Lives Matter.
86. ↩ Louis Althusser, On the Reproduction of Capitalism.
87. ↩ Barack Obama, “How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change”, June 1, 2020.
88. ↩ Kim Parker, Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Monica Anderson. “Amid Protests, Majorities Across Racial and Ethnic Groups Express Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement”. Pew Research Center, June 12, 2020.
89. ↩ TooFab Staff, “DC Protestors Drag Rioter Into Police Custody”. Too Fab, June 1, 2020.
90. ↩ Vincent Barone, “Accused Wendy’s arsonist Natalie White was Rayshard Brooks’ ‘girlfriend’: lawyer”. New York Post, June 23, 2020.
91. ↩ Lisa Hagen, “Al Sharpton Calls for Aug. 28 March on Washington at George Floyd Memorial”. U.S. News, June 4, 2020.
92. ↩ “#DefundThePolice”. Black Lives Matter, May 30, 2020.
93. ↩ Miarame Kaba, “Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police.” The New York Times, June 12, 2020.
94. ↩ Sean Boynton, “What does ‘defund the police’ really mean? Experts say confusion harming progress”. Global News, June 18, 2020; Amanda Arnold, “What Exactly Does It Mean to Defund the Police?”. The Cut, June 12, 2020; Andrew Ferguson, “‘Defund the Police’ Does Not Mean Defund the Police. Unless It Does.”. The Atlantic, June 14, 2020.
95. ↩ “Invest-Divest”. Movement for Black Lives.
96. ↩ Mike Walker, “The difference between police defunding and police disbanding”. Police One, June 18, 2020.
97. ↩ Emily Dixon, “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Was Asked About Defunding the Police and Her Answer Went Viral”. Marie Claire, June 12, 2020.
98. ↩ Scott Pham, “Police Arrested More Than 11,000 People At Protests Across The U.S.”. BuzzFeed News, June 2, 2020.
99. ↩ Jan Ransom, “Despite Virus, Hundreds Arrested in Unrest Are Held in Cramped Jails”. The New York Times, June 4, 2020.
100. ↩ Greg Doucette, George Floyd Protest Police Brutality Videos.
101. ↩ “Violence and controversies during the George Floyd protests”. Wikipedia.
102. ↩ Stephen Gandel, “At least 40 lawsuits claim police brutality at George Floyd protests across U.S.”. CBS News, June 23, 2020.
103. ↩ Rainer Shea, “Intelligence leaks reveal just how ready the police state is to crack down on dissent.” June 25, 2020.
104. ↩ Chris Brooks, “After Barr Ordered FBI to “Identify Criminal Organizers,” Activists Were Intimidated at Home and at Work”. The Intercept_, June 12, 2020.
105. ↩ Katie Warren and Joey Hadden, “How all 50 states are responding to the George Floyd protests, from imposing curfews to calling in the National Guard”. Business Insider, June 4, 2020.
106. ↩ Dylan Lovan, Bruce Schreiner. “Investigators: Man fatally shot on night of protests was killed by Kentucky National Guard rifle”. Military Times, June 9, 2020.
107. ↩ Maria Sacchetti, “Curfews follow days of looting and demonstrations.” The Washington Post, June 1, 2020.
108. ↩ Christina Wilkie, Amanda Macias. “Trump threatens to deploy military as George Floyd protests continue to shake the U.S.”. CNBC, June 1, 2020.
109. ↩ FBI Counterterrorism Division. “(U) White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement”.
110. ↩ Rachel E. Greenspan, “Oregon police told armed white men that they didn’t want to look like they were ‘playing favorites’ when they advised them to stay inside after curfew”. Insider, June 5, 2020.
111. ↩ Craig Timberg, “As Trump warns of leftist violence, a dangerous threat emerges from the right-wing boogaloo movement”. The Washington Post, June 17, 2020.
112. ↩ Rachel E. Greenspan, “Violent counter-protesters mobbed a small-town BLM demonstration in Ohio amid false rumors of antifa”. Insider, June 16, 2020.
113. ↩ Lee Brown, “Men in Ku Klux Klan-style hoods crash Nevada Black Lives Matter rally”. New York Post, June 11, 2020.
114. ↩ “KKK ‘leader’ charged for attack on Black Lives Matter protesters”. BBC News, June 9, 2020.
115. ↩ Kelly Weill, “The Far Right Is Stirring Up Violence at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone”. The Daily Beast, June 16, 2020.
116. ↩ Konstantin Toropin, “Another shooting in Seattle’s police-free autonomous zone kills man and critically injures boy”. CNN, June 29, 2020.
117. ↩ “‘American Patriots’ are planning to retake the so-called Seattle “autonomous zone” from CHAZ insurrectionists”. Law Enforcement Today, June 16, 2020.
Source: MROnline
https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/11/04/anatomy-of-a-counter-insurgency-efforts-to-undermine-the-george-floyd-uprising/
#copaganda #CounterInsurgency #Ferguson #GeorgeFloyd #GeorgeFloydRebellion #GeorgeFloydUprising #insurgency #WhatMatters2020
#copaganda #counterinsurgency #ferguson #georgefloyd #georgefloydrebellion #georgefloyduprising
abolitionmedia @[email protected] · 2024-11-04 · 19:14 UTC
Introduction
On May 25, 2020, police in Minneapolis Minnesota murdered George Floyd in cold blood. Responding to allegations of counterfeit money, police arrested Floyd, with one officer kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes, ultimately suffocating him. The killing was captured on video and quickly spread across the internet.
Protests soon followed. The first protest organized in Minneapolis was on May 26. By May 28 the protests had spread to the nearby cities of St Paul and Duluth with riots occurring in Minneaopolis that evening. Mostly notably, the third precinct of the Minneapolis Police Department was besieged and burned. Minnesota activated the National Guard on May 29 in response to the unrest.1 The American state’s disastrous response to COVID-19, massive unemployment, and indiscriminate police killings that disproportionately target people of colour provided the impetus for an enormous and unprecedented outpouring of rage; protests, many of them violently targeting the police, spread across the United States like wildfire.
While the initial uprising was ferocious in its explosive anger and militancy, within just three weeks the protests seem to have been channeled largely into the decidedly less militant demand of “Defund the police.” What happened? I largely agree with what Kandist Mallett wrote in a brilliant article in Teen Vogue, in which she argued that: “those in power…are working tirelessly to destroy this wave of unrest before it becomes a tsunami they cannot control.… They are trying to kill this movement.”2 The defanging of the George Floyd Uprising was not accidental but was rather a deliberate attempt on the part of the American ruling class to regain social control in the wake of the most militant protests in recent memory—and, as a movement, possibly the largest in U.S. history.
What I want to do in this article is to examine the dimensions of how this defanging took place: how, within the space of two weeks, we went from burning down a police station to making small budgetary demands. I argue that the massive effort to defang the George Floyd Uprising should be understood as a deliberate counter-insurgency operation, combining the (sometimes coordinated) efforts of: various police forces, the capitalist media, the American military, NGOs, the Democrats, both state and federal governments, and other liberal establishment figures. What I also want to show is that these efforts were not extraordinary: there was no shadowy conspiracy to intervene. Rather, each of these apparatuses functioned exactly as intended to in order to defend the existing capitalist order. By examining the response to the George Floyd Uprising, the left can gain a better understanding of just how difficult it will be to overthrow capitalism and the capitalist state and potentially avoid pitfalls in the future.
Before continuing, I want to address the initial and most obvious opposition to my argument. If the efforts to defang the protests should be understood as a counter-insurgency, then it stands to reason that the George Floyd Uprising should be considered an insurgency. Is this not hyperbolic? Given the extent of the crisis of legitimacy the protests created for the American state, I do not think it is hyperbolic at all. As Kristian Williams argued in “The other side of the COIN: counterinsurgency and community policing”, insurgency and counter-insurgency is precisely the lens through which the American state views much of its domestic policing activity, from gang-related operations through to protest management.3
The uprising truly created a crisis of legitimacy for the American state. It needs to be stated outright that the burning of a police station and the forced retreat, under siege, of the police inside is unprecedented in the history of modern American protest. The vulnerability of the police was put on full display: the following night police were attacked in Los Angeles and New York, among other locations. The National Guard was deployed throughout the United States. While not as historically unprecedented for dealing with dissent, there were concerns, at least in Minnesota, that the National Guard would be insufficient to quell the uprising. Governor Tim Walz on May 30 in the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “We do not have the numbers… We cannot arrest people when we are trying to hold ground.”4 Three days later, a Senior Airman in the Minnesota National Guard said in an interview that he was “waiting for the scales to tip” with regards to the “riot purgatory” that existed; the National Guard had, as of June 2, been unable to gain control of the city.5 Trump was even rushed to his White House bunker in response to protests in Washington D.C.; the last time those bunkers were used was during the September 11 attacks.6 Transit workers used their collective power to refuse to transport arrested protestors.7 Inspired by the protests, longshore workers of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union struck and shut down ports across the West Coast in mid-June.8 And in terms of putting numbers to the crisis of legitimacy faced by the American state, on June 3 a Monmouth University survey reported that 54% of Americans thought that the burning of the precinct was justified, higher than the level of support enjoyed by either Biden or Trump.9
Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency
The United States military, in Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, defines an insurgency as: “The organized use of subversion and violence to seize, nullify, or challenge political control of a region.” Counter-insurgency then is defined as “Comprehensive civilian and military efforts designed to simultaneously defeat and contain insurgency and address its root causes.”10
It is worth quoting from the manual at length to demonstrate the sophistication with which the U.S. Military approaches counter-insurgency operations.
Highlighting the specificity of counter-insurgency operations, the manual argues that:
COIN [counter-insurgency] is distinguished from traditional warfare due to the focus of its operations—a relevant population—and its strategic purpose—to gain or maintain control or influence over—and the support of that relevant population through political, psychological, and economic methods.11
Central to how the U.S. Military sees insurgency is the question of political legitimacy:
The struggle for legitimacy with the relevant population is typically a central theme of the conflict between the insurgency and the HN [host nation] government. The HN government generally needs some level of legitimacy among the population to retain the confidence of the populace and an acknowledgment of governing power. The insurgency will attack the legitimacy of the HN government while attempting to develop its own legitimacy with the population. COIN should reduce the credibility of the insurgency while strengthening the legitimacy of the HN government.12
And in turn, central to the question of legitimacy is the task of building and controlling narratives:
COIN planners should compose a unifying message (the COIN narrative) that is consistent with the overarching USG narrative, which is coupled to the USG [U.S. government] objective. Narrative is a structure of planned themes from which both messages and actions are developed. Narrative provides a common thread of communicative influence. The objective speaks to desired outcome; narrative communicates the story of the how and why of an operation. Common themes within a COIN narrative may be: reinforcing the credibility and perception of legitimacy of the HN and USG COIN operation, exploiting the negative aspects of the insurgent efforts, and preemptively presenting the expected insurgent argument along with counter-arguments. … The COIN narrative should be the result of meticulous target-audience analysis conducted by cultural and language subject matter experts … The COIN narrative should provide the guidance from which themes, actions, and messages can be planned in support of the COIN objectives.13
Narrative construction and control is reiterated in practical terms later in the Manual:
In COIN, the information flow can be roughly divided into information which the USG requires to guide its political-military approach (i.e., knowledge of local conditions) and information which the USG wishes to disseminate to influence populations. At the same time, counterinsurgents also seek to impede the information flow of insurgent groups—both their intelligence collection and their ability to influence the relevant population. 14
One of the tactics emphasized to impede the ability of insurgents to influence the target population is working with local authorities—especially non-governmental ones like religious leaders, and NGOs- to coopt the message of the insurgency and explicitly to moderate it.15 This latter point is extremely important; while moderate movements may enjoy more popular support, they are also far less successful at winning their demands.16 It is therefore in the interest of those defend the existing order to support the moderate elements of a movement.
All this is to say then that the U.S. Military understands insurgency and counter-insurgency as being not just a military question, but rather a question of politics. To this end, the Manual heavily emphasizes the importance of political action in counter-insurgency operations:
To be effective, officials involved in COIN should address two imperatives—political action and security—with equal urgency, recognizing that insurgency is fundamentally an armed political competition…. COIN functions, therefore, include informational, security, political, economic, and development components, all of which are designed to support the overall objective of establishing and consolidating control by the HN government. … This is the core of COIN, because it provides a framework around which all other programs and activities are organized. As described above, depending on the root causes of the insurgency, the strategy may involve elements of political reform, reconciliation, popular mobilization, and governmental capacity building.17
If we understand insurgency and counter-insurgency as involving both a military and political aspect, in which the political is primary, with insurgency being primarily about building a counter-legitimacy to the state and counter-insurgency being primarily about the political isolation of insurgents through the creation of narratives, we can begin to see how such an understanding is useful to apply to American domestic politics. The George Floyd Uprising saw insurgents directly undermine the legitimacy of the existing state, especially the police, through both armed and political action. In turn, the state and establishment responded with both armed and political actions, the latter in the form of co-optation and narrative control.
But the connections between American counter-insurgency and domestic politics are not just on the discursive level. In “The other side of the COIN: counterinsurgency and community policing”, Kristian Williams provides an excellent overview of the material relationship between American military counter-insurgency programs and American policing. This is specifically evident with regard to trends towards the militarization of the police and so-called “Community Policing” initiatives. Williams demonstrates how, in a modern example of the “imperial boomerang”18, many of the methods employed by modern police forces were developed and refined by the American military, including during its occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. In turn, the military partnered with police forces to learn how to better control conquered populations, be they black people living in American cities or Iraqis living under American occupation in Iraq.19
Of particular interest is the role that NGOs play in this process. As was noted earlier, the U.S. Military makes special mention of NGOs in the process of counter-insurgency. An earlier version of the Manual, published in 2006 and authored by David Petraeus, is more explicit, remarking that “some of the best weapons for counterinsurgents do not shoot” and referring to NGOs as “force-multipliers”. Williams is able to show how NGOs were directly involved in de-escalating responses of the community to murders committed by American police in Oakland, as well as involved in anti-gang activities in Boston. Both of these separate efforts fall under the playbook of counter-insurgency.20
Before going in depth into the George Floyd Uprising, it is worthwhile looking at the “why” of counter-insurgency. Why is it that the police and military have developed a comprehensive strategy intended to undermine threats to the existing order? Fundamentally, the modern state exists to protect the interests of the capitalist class—namely the continuation of capital accumulation and exploitation—against the interests of everyone else. In turn, specific states exist to protect the specific interests of their specific capitalist classes. Thus anything that attempts to undermine capitalism, or the ability of capitalists to exploit, must be itself undermined. The state has a myriad of tools at its disposal to help with this process. Some are ideological (they convince people exploitation is in their own interest) whereas others, like the police, are repressive. Insofar as the goal of counter-insurgency is ultimately to protect the accumulation of capital, we should understand counter-insurgency as extending beyond just the actions of the repressive apparatuses of the state. What I will explore below is that in this case, counter-insurgency was a joint effort of the entire American ruling class, both inside and outside the state, to defang the George Floyd Uprising. The American ruling class used both violent and non-violent means to defang the uprising: they deployed what could be called a carrot-and-stick approach in order to protect the social order.
The Carrot…
The Media Narrative
In the days following the murder of George Floyd, the media worked tirelessly to defang the George Floyd Uprising. They did this not by creating reality through discourse, but by selectively and pointedly reporting on certain aspects of reality. As a result, they encouraged people to think about the uprising in specific ways, and in turned called them into action in specific ways. I will focus primarily on the Minneapolis Star Tribune; the narrative trends developed there were later repeated in media across the United States.
Initial media reaction to the uprising directly condemned property destruction. After a Target was looted on the night of May 27, the Star Tribune spent the following day reporting on the impact that riots would have on small businesses.21 True to form, the Star Tribune printed a call for peace from the family and partner of George Floyd22 as well as from “political, faith, community leaders” calling for an “end to riots.”23 The latter story was particularly interesting insofar as the group was called together for a conference by Minnesota governor Tim Walz, and included both church leaders and NGO managers. Here is an example of a top state official picking and choosing who counts as a “community leader” without direct input from the community. In turn, the Star Tribune reported on the meeting treating these externally hand-picked “community leaders” as though their legitimacy derived from the community itself.
In the following days, the Star Tribune shifted focus to the human cost of the riots to the local community. The publication blamed the riots for creating a food desert due to the closing of large corporate grocery stores.24 Rioters were also blamed for the lack of access to medicine now faced by the local community due to the closure of pharmacies.25 Rioters were alleged to have burned down nearly 200 units of affordable housing, thus exacerbating the housing crisis.26 The riots were also allegedly responsible for devastating Minneapolis’ famed Lake Street, home to immigrant-owned business and a hub, according to the Star Tribune, of multi-culturalism.27
In its discussion of the immediate impact of the uprising on the local community, not once did the Star Tribune go beyond surface-level condemnations of the rioters. Suddenly concerned with access to food and medication, the stories did not include discussions as to why the closure of a few grocery stores could create a food desert. There was no discussion on the increased price of food and wealth-disparity. There was no discussion on the monopolization of food sources by large chains. There was no discussion on the effects of for-profit healthcare on access to medicine. No discussions on gentrification and stagnant wages leading to the necessity of specifically designated “affordable” housing. No discussions on the context of the riots: namely 40 million unemployed Americans staring down a pandemic with miniscule government relief. No discussion of looting as a means of getting necessities such as medicine, food, and clothing; no discussion as to why Target and pharmacies became targets. Instead the riots were presented largely without context, as simply an irrational outburst of anger, alone causing problems to the community. Those fighting back against the existing order were blamed for the worst effects of the very order they fought against.
In addition to direct condemnation, the Star Tribune also took a more nuanced approach to the riots. Instead of the riots being an organic expression of community anger, they were presented—both by the media, and the government—as being the work of (usually white) “outside agitators”. Rioting was purported to be the work of secret white-supremacists that had infiltrated the protests in order to cause mayhem. In that same meeting of community leaders called together by Tim Walz on May 30, the executive director of the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage put it succinctly: “White people from other communities are coming into my community, our communities as some kind of perverse poetry, as if it wasn’t bad enough already. … Go home now. The fascists on the plan right now, turn around.”28 The Star Tribune reported on an Illinois man who had been arrested with explosives in Minneapolis, who had specifically traveled there to riot.29 The mayor of St Paul and the governor of Minnesota had each tweeted that the vast majority -80% to all- of the arrestees in the week preceding June 6 had been from out-of-state despite the fact that there was no evidence to back up such claims. The claims were so ludicrous that the Star Tribune ran a story walking back many of the claims about outside agitators; well after the damage had been done to the protests.30
The goal of these various media narratives—first, condemning the riots; second, emphasizing the damage to the community; and third, blaming outside agitators- was to drive a dual process of bifurcation within the protest movement. The goal of the ruling class was on the one hand to separate “peaceful” liberal protestors from the more radical element, both to avoid radicalization of the moderate protestors but also to isolate the radicals within the movement. Second, the goal was to lump the radical protestors together with apolitical opportunist looters, whether or not the latter group actually existed, and in turn ignore the radical critiques of both policing and society as a whole that the radicals put forward. Thus the establishment attempted to call into being two groups: a group of good, peaceful, moderate protestors; and a second group of opportunist, violent protestors who did not care about the injustice the protests were about. The tactics and message of the first group was to be lauded, whereas the tactics and message of the second group was to be condemned.
Meanwhile, seemingly out of nowhere, another narrative appeared in the media. Across both social and traditional media outlets, stories appeared showing police supporting the protests. Most famous were the images of police (and sometimes National Guard) kneeling with the protestors. Often times this was displayed as the result of a request from the “good protestors”, who were then portrayed as applauding police initiative. However, in this case reality cut through the media spin: the American police were simply too vicious for their “spontaneous” (more on this below) outpouring of empathy to be taken seriously. There were abundant accounts of the same police transitioning from kneeling to attacking protestors within the space of hours.
As the protests spread in the early weeks of June, it was no longer possible for the media to rely on the “outside agitator” platitude. Indeed, with protests in literally every major city in the United States, there was no “outside” for the agitators to come from. And with the utter inhumanity of the police on full display, stories of police taking a knee simply didn’t hold water. The media then turned to focusing almost exclusively on the efforts of liberal NGOs engaged in “rebuilding” efforts31, and the activities of the “good” protestors. The degree to which the “good” protestors were signal-boosted by the media is evident in the speed at which the “Defund the Police” slogan, itself a moderated version of the already moderate “abolish the police” demand, became the public rallying cry of the movement as a whole.32 Finally, towards mid-June, with the protests now largely contained and the radical element isolated, the media began largely ignoring the massive protests that are still occurring, instead only providing local coverage of incidental events.
While I have focused largely on the narrative created in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the same pattern (from demonization, to outside agitators, to focusing on the community cost, the good/bad protestor division, the police sympathy, to NGOs and liberals, to ultimately ignoring the movement) was a pattern that was repeated more-or-less within all major media sources in North America. Why was this the case? The similarity in editorial line between media companies does not indicate direct coordination between media onwers nor does it point to state intervention or censorship. Rather, insofar as media in North America is either owned by large corporations or run by the state, the commonality of interests that exists between rich owners and rich state managers is inevitably reflected in the editorial line of the media which they run.33 It makes total sense then that the media would relay a narrative which had as its effect the defanging of the George Floyd Uprising; such an action was absolutely within the interests of the large capitalists which control the media. The capitalist class, by owning the media and therefore controlling its content, was able to utilize media narratives as part of the counter-insurgency effort against the George Floyd Uprising.
In the case of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the connection between ownership and editorial line could not be clearer. Glen Taylor, the billionaire former state senator, admitted as much when he bought the newspaper in 2014. In an interview with MinnPost, he stated that his ownership of the paper would result in the editorial line being less liberal.34 It is unsurprising then that the overall editorial position of the paper reflects Taylor’s public position, namely that the problem is not specifically law enforcement and that protests are only legitimate if they are peaceful.35 Insofar as the George Floyd Uprising threatened the existing order in Minneapolis, an order that Glen Taylor benefitted from, the Star Tribune would come out against the uprising. This same process played out across the United States over the course of the uprising.
The Copaganda Machine
No account of how the media treated the George Floyd Uprising would be complete without a discussion of something that is often overlooked in accounts of reactionary media spin: the absolutely massive public relations machine employed by the police themselves. While it is possible that the speed with which stories of police “taking a knee” with protestors went viral was entirely natural, it is far more likely that in the wake of the largest anti-police protests in a generation that the police PR machine jumped into overdrive.
The goal of police public relations (PR) is, like any public relations campaign, to influence how the public views the police. In one article written for Police One, the largest English-language online community of police boasting literally tens of thousands of members, the point of police PR is described as “to establish a positive relationship with the community before an incident occurs.” The point of PR is directly contextualized to counteract the public’s reactions to racist police terror: “Events dating back to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, Rodney King, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray and others have been covered extensively in the media and have tarnished the reputation of many agencies. The public relations team must establish or repair the image of the agency within the community.”36 In another article on the same website, another officer describes the utility of “branding” (using a PR campaign to build a police “brand”) insofar as it allows police departments to control messaging and make clear a department’s “value proposition.”37 The goal of branding is to build preconceptions about the role of police, thus filtering any observations through the preconceived image of how police should act. This allows the police to have greater impunity in their actions, as anything they do is seen immediately through the lens of police being good and necessary protectors.
On the surface this seems fairly obvious and innocuous. All firms employ PR strategies in one form or another, in which the firm seeks to use the media to influence public reaction to the firm. However if we consider the social role of police, namely a repressive apparatus of the capitalist state designed to protect the conditions which allow for exploitation, the police use of PR becomes more sinister. Police directly attempt to manipulate public perceptions of their actions in their favour, including racist murder.
How widespread is the police use of PR? It is difficult to say. An examination of several police budgets over the past years of cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Toronto turned up little information; the police are remarkably good at concealing precisely what they spend their money on. There is some scattered information though that suggests that the police spend a staggering amount on PR. For instance, in 2016 the Denver Police Department was revealed to have spent $1.3 million over three years on its “media relations unit”.38 The Metropolitan Police in the UK had, in 2015, a 10 million pound annual PR budget that employed 100 communications staff, with a police across the UK spending 36 million pounds annually on PR.39 The LAPD, rather than just employing a Public Information Officer (PIO), has an entire Public Relations Unit.40 In Toronto, the 2019 police budget requested an additional $7.9 million to be partially used on nine new positions in the Corporate Communications Unit, increasing the total staff from 16 to 25, to be used to “help increase capabilities in public relations, internal communication and digital strategy.”41 And in 2020, the NYPD allotted $3.2 million for public relations, in order to tell their “side of the story.”42
Direct police department expenses on PR are just one of the PR avenues available to police. Police unions also hire PR firms to improve the image of their officers or to advance specific goals.43 Individual police officers can also hire PR firms to represent them in times of need. One such service, Cop PRotect, allows officers to pay $50 per month for guaranteed representation if something should go wrong. In a story placed in Police Magazine, the need for such a service is related directly to the Ferguson Uprising:
Cops today are completely at the mercy of activists who don’t care about the truth … Darren Wilson was nearly murdered and now lives in hiding, while the man who tried to kill him is declared a hero by activists. Cop PRotect gives cops like Darren Wilson a trusted friend to tell their stories in ways agency information officers, union representatives and the media cannot or will not.44
In this case, the firm was created directly to mitigate community blowback against individual officers in the wake of racist police terror.
While the amount that is spent on pro-police PR is hard to find, the indirect effects make it more obvious. Indeed, there exists an entire parasitic cottage industry of pro-police PR firms and consulting services, which exist solely to increase public perceptions in the police. For instance, a quick search turned up John Guilfoil Public Relations which specializes in the public sector, including the police. A testimonial from the chief of the Massachusetts Police Department states that the firm “provides an extremely valuable service to those agencies that want to be proactive in … getting out a positive message to the community.”45 PolicePR in Indiana offers a Public Information Officer boot camp, in partnership with the Greenwood Police Department.46 Melissa Agnes, a crisis management strategist who has been featured on Police One, has a whole series of articles and talks dealing specifically with police misconduct, ranging from “Discussing the Divide Between Police and Their Communities” to “Discussing The #Ferguson Crisis with Tim Burrows”.47 None of these firms or services would exist if the police were not paying for them.
Police PR strategies are not limited to traditional media. To give the strategies a more organic feel, police forces and their hired PR firms make frequent use of social media in order to help control the narrative around their actions. Police Chief Magazine warns officers that “Hiding and Hoping is Not a PR Strategy”; police forces not only need to monitor social media to see what perception of the police force is after an incident, but must also build “a social media presence”. This latter point can include spreading information about a suspect in the event that video showing police misconduct spreads.48 As part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s ‘Community Oriented Policing Services’ (COPS) Strategic Communication Practices guide, there is an entire section on the importance of social media.49 Another article on Police One suggests that police departments send officers onto Reddit, both to get ahead of a story, but also to intervene in the discussions as police.50 These efforts can be bolstered by using “community outreach programs” to “build an online army of supporters.”51
Lest anyone think that the police simply use social media to inform their audience about their activities, the police consciously use social media to manipulate public opinion during moments of crisis. Taken from another Police One article (a fantastic resource for those wanting to understand the mindset of police), this one published ominously on May 28, 2020, titled “12 things every police department’s civil unrest plan needs”, there is an entire section on social media. Departments are instructed to be aware that protestors can use social media to amplify and coordinate their activity; departments should also be aware and be ready to counter those that would “lower the perception of [their] department.” If that fails, there’s always the National Guard.52 Force Science News published an article/advertisement featuring Melissa Agnes in 2018, which advised departments to have prepared a ‘Communications Bible’ to help navigate crises such as “officer-involved shootings”.53 In a mid-June Police One leadership briefing, after weeks of anti-police protests, authors mockingly reflected: “Now do you recognize the power of social media?” arguing that police “must start viewing… social media as an integral tool in policing.”54
All this is to say there exists a massive and highly coordinated police PR machine, which the police use to try and directly control media narratives in their favour. They do this as part of a broader effort to maintain the current social order. While it is impossible to prove this soon, I strongly suspect that it was this machine which was responsible for the flood of sympathetic stories about the police that featured prominently across traditional and social media in early June. Despite the best efforts of the police, their unions, and their employed PR firms, they were unable to shift the broader media narrative for more than a few days; the brutal actions of police across the United States spoke for themselves and undermined attempts to portray the police in a positive light.
While ultimately unsuccessful, the wave of pro-police media in early June gave credibility to the more moderate argument that the institution of policing itself is not the problem, but rather that it is only some “bad apples” amidst an otherwise salvageable police force. This in turn gave more ideological power to moderate and liberal elements, the so-called “good protestors”, within the broader protest movement. To tie this back into counter-insurgency, control over information in the form of both narrative construction and information dissemination is one of the main tools of counter-insurgency strategies. The police consciously did just this, and in the process strengthened the moderates within the movement.
The Non-Profit Industrial Complex
As noted earlier, the U.S. military considers NGO partnerships to be a vital part of counter-insurgency efforts. Much has been written about the negative effects of non-profits on social movements. In the classic collection of essays titled The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex, Andrea Smith argues that capital and the capitalist state use nonprofits to: monitor and control social movements, divert public resources into private hands, manage and control dissent, redirect activist efforts towards careerism and away from mass-based modes of organizing, allow corporations to mask exploitation through philanthropy, and encourage social movements to model themselves in terms of structure and politics after capitalist models.55 For the purposes of this essay, I want to focus on two areas: first, how NGOs have a moderating effect on the politics of a movement. Second, I will talk about how NGOs frequently work with the police to protect the current social order under the guise of changing it.
How is it that non-profits are able to moderate social movements? The capitalist class is well aware of their own interests and spends an inordinate amount of money defending them. In the process, they create philanthropic foundations. These philanthropic foundations not only allow capitalists to transfer wealth inter-generationally without taxation (giving their children positions in the foundations) but also fund charitable activities, such as non-profits. There is a catch though: the capitalists will not fund anything that does not fit their interests, namely the continuation of exploitation. They are happy, for instance, to fund affordable housing initiatives insofar as those initiatives do not tackle the root causes of homelessness, namely private property. Capitalist foundations therefore provide resources to NGOs which act in line with their interests. In turn, NGOs knowingly moderate themselves in order to better secure resources. Furthermore respectable NGOs can become the public face of a movement, effectively forcing the more radical organizations out of the public eye.
The Civil Rights and anti-police movements are full of examples of the moderating effects of NGOs. For instance, in the 1960s white philanthropist Stephen Currier set up the Council for United Civil Rights Leadership in order to channel foundation funding to Civil Rights groups. The so-called ‘Big Six’ were brought together; of the six, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the most radical of the groups, received the least amount of funding. More radical groups, such as the Nation of Islam, were completely excluded. In 1963 Malcolm X specifically criticized the Big Six and the Council for United Civil Rights Leadership in his famous ‘Message to the Grass Roots’ speech in which he reflected on the March on Washington which had taken place earlier that year.56 The goal of these maneuvers by white philanthropists was clear: fund the more moderate element of the Civil Rights movement to avoid the movement taking a radical turn and undermining the ability for American capitalism to operate.57
Fast forward 50 years, and the same pattern reoccurs. In Oakland in 2009, non-profits directly intervened to deradicalize the response to the killing of Oscar Grant. Ahead of a major rally in January 2009, the Oakland police arranged meetings with various nonprofit and church leaders in order to defang the protests before they even began.58 Religious leaders asked their congregations to not attend the protests. A coalition of NGOs came together and formed the Coalition Against Police Execution (CAPE). CAPE explicitly called for a lack of militancy in their protests, and stood as a physical barrier between police and protestors. 59 In turn, CAPE became the public, legitimate face of the protests, which was reinforced through media coverage.
The uprising in 2014 in Ferguson saw a similar process play itself out. There the NGO influence was given an organizational existence in the form of Black Lives Matter. I want to be clear here; when speaking of Black Lives Matter I am talking about the official organization and not the broader movement of the same name. Black Lives Matter, while first conceived of in 2013, organized its first major action in 2014 with the Black Lives Matter Freedom Ride in response to the killing of Michael Brown by the Ferguson police. Black Lives Matter became the public face of the movement. Despite the Ferguson uprising originating in riots, Black Lives Matter and other organizations planned a series of actions over the course of the summer of 2014 that channeled local activism into safer and less rebellious avenues.
Following the Ferguson uprising, moderate elements of the Black Lives Matter movement became a relatively safe outlet for liberals to support and into which the capitalist class could channel outrage. Black Lives Matter and the constellation of new organizations and networks around it received an absolutely immense amount of donations from larger donors like The Ford Foundation and George Soros.60 The more liberal elements of the movement, able to secure donations, were able to take centre-stage. For instance, one recipient, the Organization for Black Struggle, used some of its funding to create the Hands Up Coalition. This coalition popularized the “hands up, don’t shoot” slogan used by protestors; this ran against slogans by more militant black power activists such as “arms up, shoot back” and “fists up, fight back”. More radical yet equally active groups, such as the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, received no funding. In 2016, Black Lives Matter and 27 other organizations, as part of the Movement for Black Lives, issued a platform of demands titled A Vision for Black Lives. Rather than a comprehensive plan and program to mobilize the masses to fight for their own liberation, the document is a set of policy guidelines. The effect is that efforts are taken off the streets and channeled into traditional power structures where they are ultimately destined to fail.
The founders of Black Lives Matter were first introduced to each other through an NGO known as Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD). The board of directors of BOLD, those who decide its political direction, is made up of managers of other NGOS.61 BOLD also receives an immense sum of money from private donors, such as through the “philanthropic intermediary” known as Borealis Philanthropy62 and through Funders for Justice.63 This latter group, also created in response to the Ferguson Uprising, in turn receives funding from The Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations; hardly groups interested in a radical transformation of the social order or the end of exploitation. I don’t bring this up to allege a conspiracy that Black Lives Matter is being secretly run by The Ford Foundation, but rather to show that even Black Lives Matter has its origins within the non-profit industrial complex milieu, which in turn effects its politics. Turning back to the George Floyd Uprising, it is unsurprising that in a recent Reddit Ask-Me-Anything, Kailee Scales, the Managing Director for Black Lives Matter, condemned the riots and announced efforts to channel the George Floyd Uprising into voter registration and “civic engagement” through the #WhatMatters2020 campaign.64
The ways in which non-profits have attempted to moderate explosions of rage during the George Floyd Uprising are too many to list. One example I want to focus on, however, is particularly telling. On May 30, two days after the burning of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis, a local non-profit called Pillsbury United Communities had a press conference. Pillsbury United Communities is an incredibly well established NGO; founded in 1879, it runs a number of outreach and education programs, community programs (such as free COVID-19 testing), as well as “social enterprises” including a grocery store. The press conference on May 30 brought together Jamie Foxx, Stephen Jackson, BLM activist Tamika Mallory, alongside George Floyd’s family. Speakers were explicit in their calls for peaceful protests, but generally did not condemn the riots. A peaceful rally followed.65 Thus at the height of the militant protests, people were asked by “legitimate” community leaders to temper their anger and engage in traditionally and easily ignored protests. These calls were amplified by liberals outside the community and the media.
A few days after the rally, Pillsbury United Communities used George Floyd’s death to issue a fundraising call; it is unclear from their website how the money will be used to ensure “Justice for George Floyd”.66 But individual donations are not the only way that Pillsbury United Communities raises funds. It also receives donations from massive foundations such as the Greater Twin Cities United Way, the Minneapolis Foundation, and the St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation. The United Way, for instance, acts as a “philanthropic intermediary”, collection donations from large corporations, and then granting money to non-profits. In this specific case, the money given to Pillsbury United Communities comes from sources such as 3M, U.S. Bank, Cargill, and Target.67 The latter, notably, also provides hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to police foundations.68 One can see the issue of an organization fighting for justice against the police having similar funding sources to the police themselves. It is also unlikely that the capitalist class would fund those capable of truly undermining it.
That an NGO intervened in a mass struggle to both channel the movement in a more liberal direction while monopolizing resources is not particularly surprising. What is particularly interesting though is Pillsbury United Communities’ connection to community policing. A 2006 report by the Minneapolis Department of Health & Family Support lists Waite House, a Pillsbury United Communities site, as a “Weed & Seed Safe Haven”.69 Weed and Seed programs, for context, gained prominence in 1992 after the Rodney King riots as a way to connect police and community leaders in order to ostensibly combat gang violence70; they made cohesive the militarization tactics (weed) and community policing tactics (seed) employed in counter-insurgency efforts.71 In December 2014, the FBI gave Pillsbury United Communities its “Director’s Community Leadership Award”, an annual award given to groups for crime prevention efforts.72 Then-president and chief executive, Chanda Smith Baker, accepted the award. Coincidentally, Chanda Smith Baker—now working for the Minneapolis Foundation—also sits on the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s newspeak titled “Working Group on Police-Involved Deadly Force Encounters”. The goal of the working group was to “identify ways to reduce deadly force encounters with law enforcement”73. Members of the group included the Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, the Minnesota Attorney General, Philando Castile’s (killed by police in Minnesota in 2016) uncle, and other judge’s, academics, politicians, and NGO managers. Tragically and ironically, the working group released its findings in February 2020; that George Floyd was murdered, just a few months later in a “police-involved deadly force encounter”, demonstrates the extent to which so-called community policing is useful to the community.
One final interesting link between NGOs and the police in Minneapolis: as mentioned earlier, Chanda Smith Baker, after working for Pillsbury United Communities, went on to work as the Senior Vice President, Impact for The Minneapolis Foundation. The current president and CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation is R.T. Rybak, who was also the former mayor of Minneapolis. R.T. Rybak also sits on the board of a company called Benchmark Analytics: an IT company which has designed a system capable of predicting when officers will become problematically violent. Rybak therefore has a direct material interest in “reforming” the police. In an article written on June 2, titled “I Was the Mayor of Minneapolis and I Know Our Cops Have a Problem”, Rybak recalls surveying the damage to Minneapolis after the riots with Chanda Smith Baker, before advertising his firm’s solution to police violence.74 Unsurprisingly he emphasizes the humanity of the police, and he sees the solution as being community policing informed by predicative behavior technology.
The organizational and interpersonal links between NGO managers, politicians, police leadership, “community leaders”, and the board members of large capitalist firms points to the existence of a ruling capitalist class. The above is just a small illustration of how the ruling class rules in Minneapolis.
To summarize all of this: Pillsbury United Communities is an established, well-respected local NGO. It is part of the non-profit industrial complex, relying on philanthropic intermediaries for much of its funding, which in turn are funded by massive corporations. It came out very vocally in the early stages of the George Floyd Uprising, urging a more liberal and institutional approach to activism as opposed to the riots. And, it has close ties to the Minneapolis Police Department and state police through community policing programs. It is just one textbook example of many of how NGOs act as elements of a counter-insurgency strategy.
The Democrats
The Democrats have been referred to as the “graveyard of social movements” insofar as they absorb, coopt, and disorganize them.75 Their approach to the George Floyd Uprising is no different. What the Democratic Party sought to do in the wake of the George Floyd Uprising was a combination of repression (in those places in which it exercised power, such as Minneapolis, New York, L.A., etc.) and coopt its energies into the Biden 2020 campaign. Given the unpopularity of Biden and the overall increasing disinterest in electoral politics by much of the left the attempt to coopt the movement, at least ostensibly, has been unsuccessful. It is, however, still worth examining in order to paint a full picture of the counter-insurgency campaign against the uprising.
At the beginning of the uprising, the Democratic Party machine jumped into motion but was unsure how to act. While top Democrat strategists spoke to media about how the uprising could affect the election76 (indicating that they were in fact working on a response), there was little in the way of official high-level statement or actions for almost a week. Then on June 2 two fairly major events occurred. First, Biden publicly brought Julian Castro into his campaign; Castro had been a vocal proponent of liberal police reforms during his bid to become the Democratic nominee for president.77 Second, Pelosi, the multi-millionaire Speaker of the House, asked the Congressional Black Caucus to draft a series of police reforms.78
On June 8, following a ridiculous display in which Pelosi and other top Democrats took a knee wearing Ghanaian kente cloths, the Justice in Policing Act was revealed. The act is fairly milquetoast—far behind the nebulous demands of the uprising—and includes provisions for more easily prosecuting police in cases of brutality, mandatory body cameras, as well as a ban on chokeholds. The Act does absolutely nothing to abolish or even defund police departments. 79 Nor is the act likely to become law; even if the act was to pass the Republican-majority Senate, Trump has announced his attention to veto it.80
Rather than an accident, the unlikelihood of the bill passing is a feature, one of the ways in which so-called “checks and balances” help protect the current order. The Democrats know this; had it been likely to pass the bill would have been even more muted. The inaction of the Democrats in the face of the George Floyd Uprising is not surprising; they are one of the two parties that have overseen the construction and maintenance of the white-supremacist order in the United States. Biden is himself a career segregationist and author of a 1994 crime bill81 which was a cornerstone in the construction of the modern for-profit prison behemoth.82 The Congressional Black Caucus has itself helped to make the police a “protected class”, and also contributed to the militarization of police through the 1033 program.83
Despite the lack of success of the official Democrat cooptation attempt of the George Floyd Uprising, I want to point out one of the more insidious ways that the Democrats are attempting to coopt outrage against police murders through social movements themselves. It is worth first pointing out that Alicia Garza, one of the founders of Black Lives Matter, is a supporter of the centrist-wing of the Democrats, specifically Elizabeth Warren.84 Black Lives Matter has recently launched a campaign called #WhatMatters2020. The goal of the campaign is to bring “BLM supporters and allies to the polls in the 2020 U.S Presidential Election to build collective power and ensure candidates are held accountable for the issues that systematically and disproportionately impact Black and under-served communities across the nation.”85 A campaign video calls on people to vote for an America where “police are held accountable” and “where we have access to quality healthcare”. The problem with this campaign, of course, is that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are even pretending to deliver on promises like this. Biden does not support medicare for all, and was an architect of the current racist criminal justice system. The #WhatMatters2020 campaign is a cynical sheepdog campaign, bringing black people angry at the current injustices of American white-supremacist capitalism back into the Democrats.
Invasion of the Liberals
Earlier in this article, I mentioned that the media was attempting to call into existence a group of “good”, peaceful protestors. I want to spend more time now talking about this process. Ideology is both produced by practice, but also exists as a way of calling particular types of people into activity.86 When the media began focusing almost exclusively on “good” protestors, it was at first inventing this category out of almost thin air; the line it was drawing was an artificial one. But by putting forward this ideological pole, the media called into action people who had hitherto not been involved. The media, alongside notable liberal politicians and other establishment figures, created a group of liberal protestors out of inactive liberals who now saw themselves and their own political predilections reflected in the ongoing uprising. Included in these efforts by the media and liberal establishment figures is a now-famous essay by former president Barrack Obama, posted to Medium on June 1, in which he said he supported the protests, condemned violence, and urged reform efforts to be focused on institutional channels.87
The flip side of the liberal “call to action” is that it also acts as a safeguard against radicalization. When reality confronts ideology, it is often ideology that is changed. Reality forces a rupture in one’s worldview which can lead to radicalization. In this case it became difficult to substantiate the story of a good, neutral, and protective state in the face of ubiquitous police violence against even peaceful protestors. If reality can be changed or if powerful narratives can reinforce ideology, ideology is cemented rather than discarded. In this case, liberalism as a worldview was able to escape challenge due to the emergence of establishment liberals in support of the protests.
The result of the liberalization of the protests on public opinion is interesting. By mid-June, 67% of Americans reportedly supported the ongoing protests. The racial breakdown was more stark: 60% of white people supported the protests, whereas 86% of black people supported them. Despite this, 59% of Americans (including 62% of white Americans compared with 43% of black Americans) believed that the protests were spurred on at least in part as a means for people to engage in criminal behavior.88 Thus the liberalization of the protests resulted in a situation in which the majority of a country deeply enmeshed in white supremacy supported protests proclaiming the value of black lives, despite the majority of the country materially benefitting from that same unjust racial hierarchy. That major politicians like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former Governor of Massachusetts and presidential candidate Mitt Romney joined the protests—both politicians with significant power to change the conditions against which they protested- signals only that the political message of the uprising had shifted in the popular consciousness away from “dismantle white supremacy” to the base level of “black people are human”. That nearly one third of America could not even support such a basic affirmation of humanity is telling.
The liberal invasion had three main effects on the uprising. First, the influx of liberals into the rallies not only led to the proliferation of protests and an increase in attendance, but also to their pacification. Protestors began to self-police, modifying their tactics in line with the interests of the existing order. Protestors made sure to demarcate themselves and their actions as “peaceful”, thus robbing themselves of even the specter of militancy. To a certain extent there is a degree of “selection bias” here; militant protestors are more likely to be arrested, and therefore over time the composition of a protest will naturally become more liberal. Police are aware of this and consciously seek to tie up activist time and resources in legal proceedings.
Internally to the protests, liberal protestors acted like “peace police”, disrupting the activities of militants. Examples included liberals in Washington DC turning over a “rioter” to the police (at an anti-police march!) at the end of May,89 as well as the doxxing by liberal activists of Rayshard Brook’s girlfriend, pegged as an outside agitator.90 She is accused of setting fire to the Wendy’s outside of which her partner was murdered by police. Another high-profile example of the liberalization of the protests on the tactical level is Al Sharpton’s call for a march on Washington in August, which took place at the height of militant protests occurring in Washington D.C..91 Such a call, not to support the existing protests but to postpone them, was a calculated attempt to de-escalate the uprising.
Second, the influx of liberals into the movement has paved the way for false victories. By this I mean superficial gains that ultimately leave the underlying power structure which gave rise to the protests unchallenged. Included here is the “Black Lives Matter” street mural in Washington D.C., various corporate black-washing campaigns, the changing of band names, and the cancelling of shows like COPS. One notes the irony of the mayor of New York ordering that “Black Lives Matter” be painted outside of Trump Towers while overseeing a police department which brutalizes black people and and while also opposing efforts to defund the NYPD.
Third, the influx of liberals into the movement had an effect on defanging the demands of the movement. Black Lives Matter was quick to issue the demand to defund the police in the early days of the George Floyd Uprising: they explicitly pushed for a defunding of the police, without going into detail as to what that would entail.92 Other activists seized on the space this opened up and stated that “defund” meant “defund everything”. They argued that the police were not reformable and therefore had to be abolished.93 What followed was a discussion in the media about whether or not “defund” actually meant “defund”. There was no shortage of liberals assuring other concerned liberals that defunding didn’t actually mean that there would be no police.94 While Minneapolis has since begun steps to disband their police force, demands in other locations seem to ask for a portion of police budgets to be re-allocated to community resources, in line with the Movement for Black Lives policy demands.95
The conceptual slippage of “defund” has not gone unnoticed by the police themselves. In a June 18 article on Police One, Mike Walker, a police officer for 27 years, wrote that “defunding is really just a way of saying reduced funding.”96 In the same article he offers assurance to worried police officers by noting that budget cuts were already on the agenda due to COVID-19, and that most municipalities legally cannot function without police due to their municipal charters.
That at least some police are fine with temporarily defunding the police speaks to the heart of just how defanged a demand “defund the police” actually is. But “abolish the police” as a slogan absent a critique of the conditions that give rise to the police is itself a demand that does not cut to the heart of the matter. The police exist because capitalism requires force to defend inequality and exploitation. Without ending exploitation, there will still need to be some form of coercive apparatus to ensure the continued existence of exploitation. Thus the coercive functions of the police will be offloaded to other state apparatuses; there will still be violent, racist coercion whether or not the police exist. This is something that already happens; consider, for instance, the racist terror that child welfare services across Canada (not armed, not police) put Indigenous people through for years. The George Floyd Uprising opened the space for discussions about the fundamental nature of society, about capitalism, imperialism, and racial inequality in America. Liberals shifted the overton window to exclude visions of radical transformation, instead focusing on the degree to which police should be defunded. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s now viral Instagram post which stated that police abolition looks like white suburbia, an atomized capitalist dystopia, makes total sense in this context.97
The liberal invasion resulted in a defanging of protest tactics, results, and even the demands themselves. This process, which was aided by the police, the media, and “legitimate” community leaders, was nothing less than the political side of a counter-insurgency campaign by the American ruling class directed against the George Floyd Uprising. Thus a movement which began with the burning of a police station has been transformed into one of requesting minor amendments to municipal budgets.
…And the Stick
The majority of the article has focused on the less-obvious methods that the American ruling class has used in its counter-insurgency efforts against the George Floyd Uprising. However, while counter-insurgency is more effective if it involves elements of soft power, no counter-insurgency effort is complete without open repression. The efforts against the George Floyd Uprising are no exception.
It is hard to overstate the scale of the police operation against protestors over the past month. For instance, by June 2 there already been over 11 000 arrests of protestors.98 The volume of arrests was used as an excuse to temporarily suspend habeus corpus in New York.99 There have been numerous documented arrests and attacks on journalists from even liberal platforms such as CNN. To my knowledge there are no up to date figures on the total number of arrests. In terms of the intensity of the police response, over the past month there have been countless scenes of police using tear gas and pepper spray to clear otherwise peaceful protests. An online database has logged over 670 individual incidents of police brutality caught on video.100 Police have killed at least four protestors over the course of the uprising. Many more have been maimed.101 As a result there are at least 40 different lawsuits currently underway against police departments for brutality during the George Floyd Uprising.102
As if the level of direct repression was not enough, there has also been an increase in surveillance of activists. A recent leak, titled “Blue Leaks”, has revealed that the FBI monitored social media extensively during the protests and forward information it thought relevant to local police departments.103 FBI agents have also harassed activists after they attended recent protests against police brutality.104 The goal of FBI harassment in general is to intimidate protestors and organizers into inactivity as a means of disorganizing movements. These most recent incidents are reminiscent of FBI surveillance and intimidation of the anti-war movement and COINTELPRO.
The extraordinary level of police terror was not enough to contain the uprising. The National Guard was deployed to 31 states and Washington D.C.. This involved over 62 000 soldiers.105 The National Guard was itself involved in the violent repression of the protests.106 Over 200 cities imposed a curfew, which affected more than 60 million people.107 Trump went as far as to threaten to use the American military to impose order on cities where the protests could not be contained by conventional repression.108
One final aspect to overt repression of protests which needs to be included is the role of far right organizations and militia groups. While these are ostensibly distinct from the state, there is significant overlap and cooperation between police forces and far right organizations; a now infamous 2006 FBI report details the extent to which white supremacists have infiltrated police departments.109 For instance, in early June police in Oregon were caught on video coordinating with the far-right Proud Boys to help them avoid arrest after they intimidated George Floyd protestors.110 Much has also been written about the so-called Boogaloo Movement, which has targeted anti-police brutality protests.111
There have been many attacks by the far right on recent protests. Incidents include a mob of armed counter-protestors in Bethel, Ohio which attacked a black lives matter rally searching for “antifa”.112 The KKK has also been active in these efforts: they attacked a black lives matter rally in Nevada,113 and a local KKK leader in Virginia drove his car into a protest in mid-June.114 The autonomous zone set up in Seattle has also been a magnet for far-right attacks; on June 15 the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer entered the zone and beat a man,115 and there have been five shootings directed at the zone in recent weeks, somehow allowed by police. The most recent one resulted in the death of two attackers and injuries to a 14 year old boy.116 Far right groups have also announced a plan to “retake” the zone on July 4.117
Police and national guard brutality, police harassment and surveillance, threats of military intervention, and attacks by the far right all serve as the coercive elements to the American establishment’s counter-insurgency efforts against the George Floyd Uprising. Without the threat of violence the “carrot” side of the “carrot and stick” formula would not be as attractive. The end goal however, is the same: the maintenance and defense of an order defined by exploitation and white supremacy.
Conclusion
Over the course of this article what I have sought to do is outline some of the ways that the American ruling sought to defend itself during the course of one of the largest threats to its own existence in recent years. I have shown how combined and coordinated efforts by: police forces, the military, capitalist media, NGOs, the Democrats, far-right groups, and liberal establishment figures have all combined to undermine the George Floyd Uprising. Thus far these efforts seem to have been rather successful.
The beautiful thing about history, however, is that it is never predetermined. The future is not written. While the establishment has a mind-boggling array of resources and sophisticated counter-insurgency techniques at its disposal, it is not infallible. Indeed, it does (and has!) made mistakes. It is these mistakes that provide openings for revolutionary forces to intervene and change the existing social order. Even the outcome of these protests is not yet decided: they continue, and the protestors become increasingly sophisticated in fighting back. The massive uprising of the past few weeks has shown the degree to which the people do possess power. But the events have also shown the pitfalls into which movements of resistance can fall. By writing this article I hope to have exposed some of these pitfalls, so that liberation struggles now and in the future can avoid them.
Notes
1. ↩ VOA News, “Minnesota Calls National Guard to Quell Violent Protests in Minneapolis”.
2. ↩ Kandist Mallett, “The Black Lives Matter Revolution Can’t Be Co-Opted By Police and Lawmakers”.
3. ↩ Kristian Williams, “The other side of the COIN: counterinsurgency and community policing,” Interface, Vol 3, No 1, May 2011.
4. ↩ Aaron Morrison and Tim Sullivan, “Minneapolis overwhelmed again by protests over Floyd death,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 30, 2020.
5. ↩ Reid Forgrave, “On patrol in St. Paul, National Guard waits ‘for the scales to tip’”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 2, 2020.
6. ↩ Jamie Ehrlich, “The hidden history of the secret presidential bunker,” CNN Politics.
7. ↩ Hilary Hanson, “NYC Transit Union Backs Bus Drivers Who Refuse To Transport Protestors For NYPD”. HuffPost U.S., May 30, 2020.
8. ↩ Joe DeManuelle-Hall, “West Coast Dockers Stop Work to Honor George Floyd”. Labor Notes, June 11, 2020.
9. ↩ Matthew Impelli, “54 Percent of Americans Think Burning Down Minneapolis Police Precinct Was Justified After George Floyd’s Death,” Newsweek, June 6, 2020.
10. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, GL-5.
11. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, xiii.
12. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, I-7.
13. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, I-8.
14. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, III-6.
15. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, III-14.
16. ↩ Feinberg, M., Willer, R., & Kovacheff, C. (2020). “The activist’s dilemma: Extreme protest actions reduce popular support for social movements”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication.
17. ↩ Joint Publication 3-24: Counterinsurgency, III-5.
18. ↩ Connor Woodman, “The Imperial Boomerang: How colonial methods of repression migrate back to the metropolis”.
19. ↩ Kristian Williams, “The other side of the COIN: counterinsurgency and community policing,” Interface, Vol 3, No 1, May 2011.
20. ↩ Williams, “The other side of the COIN: counterinsurgency and community policing”.
21. ↩ Kavita Kumar and Miguel Otarola, “Small-business owners pick up the pieces after night of rage, destruction”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 28, 2020.
22. ↩ Paul Walsh, “Seeing his city on fire would ‘devastate’ George Floyd, girlfriend says”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 28, 2020.
23. ↩ Briana Bierschbach, “Minnesota’s political, faith, community leaders plead for an end to riots”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 30, 2020.
24. ↩ John Ewoldt, “Minneapolis neighborhoods face food desert after looting closes multiple stores”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 2, 2020.
25. ↩ Kavita Kumar and Adam Belz, “In riot-hit Twin Cities neighborhoods, a hole where pharmacies used to be”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 2, 2020.
26. ↩ Jim Buchta, “Minneapolis vandalism targets include 189-unit affordable housing development.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 28, 2020.
27. ↩ Kathleen Hennessy and Tim Sullivan, “Unrest devastates a city’s landmark street of diversity.” Minneapolis Star Tribune. May 31, 2020.
28. ↩ Briana Bierschbach, “Minnesota’s political, faith, community leaders plead for an end to riots”, Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 30, 2020.
29. ↩ Andy Mannix, “’We came to riot’: Illinois man livestreamed lighting fires, handing out explosives in Minneapolis, charges say”. Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 1, 2020.
30. ↩ Torey Van Oot. “’Fog of conflict’: Minnesota officials responding to George Floyd protests, violence helped spread of misinformation”. Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 6, 2020.
31. ↩ Kelly Smith, “Minneapolis, St. Paul foundations aim at rebuilding, criminal justice reform after riots.”. Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 5, 2020; “How To Give Back To Your Besieged Community”. CBS Minnesota, June 9, 2020.
32. ↩ Sam Levin. “Movement to defund police gains ‘unprecedented’ support across U.S..” The Guardian, June 4, 2020; Jack Kelly. “The Movement To Defund Or Disband Police: Here’s What You Need To Know Now.” Forbes, June 9, 2020.
33. ↩ Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent. Michael Parenti, Inventing Reality: The Politics of News Media.
34. ↩ Britt Robson, “New owner Glen Taylor: less liberal Star Tribune ahead.” MinnPost, April 16, 2014.
35. ↩ Chris Haynes. “Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor calls George Floyd’s death ‘a shame’ and ‘a tragedy’”. Yahoo Sports, May 28, 2020.
36. ↩ Dan Grossi, “Public relations in law enforcement: Is the PIO obsolete?” Police One, January 8, 2020.
37. ↩ W. Michael Phibbs, “Why your police department needs a brand.” Police One, September 7, 2017.
38. ↩ John Ferrugia, Brittany Freeman, Jason Foster. “Denver police defend public relations spending”. The Denver Channel, February 17, 2016.
39. ↩ William Turvill. “UK police forces spend more than £36m a year on PR and communications”. Press Gazette, May 1, 2015.
40. ↩ Los Angeles Police Department. “Public Relations Unit”, Official Site of The Los Angeles Police Department.
41. ↩ Mark Saunders, Chief of Police. “Toronto Police Service—2019 Operating Budget Request”.
42. ↩ Jake Offenhartz, “NYPD Defends Its Massive Budget As Social Services And Youth Programs Are Cut”. The Gothamist, May 15, 2020.
43. ↩ Joel Rub, David Zahniser. “L.A. police union hires PR firm in bid to win pay raises”. Los Angeles Times, January 10, 2015.
44. ↩ POL Staff. “PR Firm Launches Service to Defend Police Officers from Anti-Cop Activists.” Police Magazine, November 17, 2015.
45. ↩ John Guilfoil Public Relations. “Sectors We Serve”.
46. ↩ PolicePR.
47. ↩ Melissa Agnes. “Discussing the Divide Between Police and Their Communities, on The Police Podcast”. Melissa Agnes: Crisis Management Strategist. January 27, 2015; Melissa Agnes. “TCIP #011—Discussing The #Ferguson Crisis with Tim Burrows”. Melissa Agnes: Crisis Management Strategist. August 17, 2014.
48. ↩ Julie Parker. “Hiding and Hoping Is Not a PR Strategy.” Police Chief Magazine.
49. ↩ Darrel W. Stephens, Julia Hill, Sheldon Greenburg. Strategic Communication Practices: A Toolkit for Police Executives.
50. ↩ Sean Whitcomb, Jonah Spangenthal-Lee. “3 reasons your agency should be on Reddit.” Police One, May 2, 2019.
51. ↩ P1 Staff. “Roundtable: How to match your agency’s social media strategy with community needs”. Police One, May 2, 2019.
52. ↩ Heather R. Cotter. “12 things every police department’s civil unrest plan needs”. Police One, May 28, 2020.
53. ↩ “Are you ready for the crisis that may be heading your way?” Police One, July 5, 2018.
54. ↩ Yael Bar-tur, Mathew Rejis, “Now do you recognize the power of social media?”. Police One, June 12, 2020.
55. ↩ Andrea Smith, “Introduction”, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded, 3.
56. ↩ Malcolm X, “Message to the Grass Roots”. Black Past.
57. ↩ Netfa Freeman, “Movement Ferguson, Beware the Nonprofit Industrial Complex”. Black Agenda Report, January 21, 2015.
58. ↩ George Ciccariello-Maher, “Chronicle of a Riot Foretold”. Counterpunch, June 29, 2010.
59. ↩ Advance the Struggle. “Justice for Oscar Grant: A Lost Opportunity?”. Advance the Struggle, July 15, 2009.
60. ↩ Netfa Freeman, “Movement Ferguson, Beware the Nonprofit Industrial Complex”. Black Agenda Report, January 21, 2015.
61. ↩ BOLD. “Board”. BOLD.
62. ↩ Borealis Philanthropy. “Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity”.
63. ↩ BOLD (Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity) Funding Page.
64. ↩ “Let me be clear: we do not advocate violence in protests of any kind—not by any protester and not by police. We do not advocate or condone destruction of property. We believe in the value of human lives.” Reddit.
65. ↩ Patrick Reusse. “Stephen Jackson, other activists score with straight talk at Minneapolis City Hall rotunda.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 30, 2020.
66. ↩ Adair Mosley. “Justice for George Floyd”. Pillsbury United Communities, June 2, 2020.
67. ↩ Greater Twin Cities United Way. “Corporate Partners” .
68. ↩ Kari Paul. “How Target, Google, Bank of America and Microsoft quietly fund police through private donations”. The Guardian, June 18, 2020.
69. ↩ Minneapolis Department of Health & Family Support. “City of Minneapolis Weed & Seed Initiative”.
70. ↩ Community Capacity Development Office, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. Weed and Seed Implementation Manual.
71. ↩ Kristian Williams, “The other side of the COIN: counterinsurgency and community policing,” Interface, Vol 3, No 1, May 2011.
72. ↩ “FBI recognizes Pillsbury United Communities for its service to diverse neighborhoods.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, December 15, 2014.
73. ↩ Working Group on Police-Involved Deadly Force Encounters. “Executive Summary of Recommendations”, 2.
74. ↩ R. T. Rybak. “I Was the Mayor of Minneapolis and I Know Our Cops Have a Problem”. Benchmark Analytics, June 2, 2020.
75. ↩ August H. Nimtz. “The Graveyard of Progressive Social Movements: The Black Hole of the Democratic Party”. MR Online, May 9, 2017.
76. ↩ Brian Schwartz, “How Joe Biden’s leading VP contenders stack up in the wake of protests over George Floyd’s death”. CNBC, June 1, 2020; Daniel Strauss, “’A national crisis’: how the killing of George Floyd is changing U.S. politics”. The Guardian, May 30, 2020; Nicholas Fandos, “Congress Plans Hearings on Racial Violence and Use of Force by the Police”. New York Times, May 29, 2020.
77. ↩ Suzanne Gamboa, “Joe Biden pulls Julian Castro into campaign, asks for help to ‘tackle police reform’”. NBC News, June 2, 2020.
78. ↩ Kelsey Snell, Claudia Grisales. “Pelosi Asks Black Caucus To Come Up With Police Reforms Following Protests”. NPR, June 2, 2020.
79. ↩ Catie Edmondson, “Democrats Unveil Sweeping Bill Targeting Police Misconduct and Racial Bias”, The New York Times, June 8, 2020.
80. ↩ Lisa Mascaro, “Police overhaul dims, but House Democrats push ahead on vote”. Police One, June 25, 2020.
81. ↩ German Lopez, “The controversial 1994 crime law that Joe Biden helped write, explained”. Vox, June 20, 2019.
82. ↩ Glen Ford, “The Movement Gets BIG—and Its Enemies Reveal Themselves”. Black Agenda Report, June 4, 2020.
83. ↩ Danny Haiphong, “The Rebellion Against Police Repression Must Guard Against ALL Enemies, Whether Red, Blue, or Green”, Black Agenda Report, June 17, 2020.
84. ↩ Justine Coleman, “Warren endorsed by Black Lives Matter co-founder’s Black to the Future Action Fund”, The Hill, February 20, 2020.
85. ↩ “BLM’s #WhatMatters2020”, Black Lives Matter.
86. ↩ Louis Althusser, On the Reproduction of Capitalism.
87. ↩ Barack Obama, “How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change”, June 1, 2020.
88. ↩ Kim Parker, Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Monica Anderson. “Amid Protests, Majorities Across Racial and Ethnic Groups Express Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement”. Pew Research Center, June 12, 2020.
89. ↩ TooFab Staff, “DC Protestors Drag Rioter Into Police Custody”. Too Fab, June 1, 2020.
90. ↩ Vincent Barone, “Accused Wendy’s arsonist Natalie White was Rayshard Brooks’ ‘girlfriend’: lawyer”. New York Post, June 23, 2020.
91. ↩ Lisa Hagen, “Al Sharpton Calls for Aug. 28 March on Washington at George Floyd Memorial”. U.S. News, June 4, 2020.
92. ↩ “#DefundThePolice”. Black Lives Matter, May 30, 2020.
93. ↩ Miarame Kaba, “Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police.” The New York Times, June 12, 2020.
94. ↩ Sean Boynton, “What does ‘defund the police’ really mean? Experts say confusion harming progress”. Global News, June 18, 2020; Amanda Arnold, “What Exactly Does It Mean to Defund the Police?”. The Cut, June 12, 2020; Andrew Ferguson, “‘Defund the Police’ Does Not Mean Defund the Police. Unless It Does.”. The Atlantic, June 14, 2020.
95. ↩ “Invest-Divest”. Movement for Black Lives.
96. ↩ Mike Walker, “The difference between police defunding and police disbanding”. Police One, June 18, 2020.
97. ↩ Emily Dixon, “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Was Asked About Defunding the Police and Her Answer Went Viral”. Marie Claire, June 12, 2020.
98. ↩ Scott Pham, “Police Arrested More Than 11,000 People At Protests Across The U.S.”. BuzzFeed News, June 2, 2020.
99. ↩ Jan Ransom, “Despite Virus, Hundreds Arrested in Unrest Are Held in Cramped Jails”. The New York Times, June 4, 2020.
100. ↩ Greg Doucette, George Floyd Protest Police Brutality Videos.
101. ↩ “Violence and controversies during the George Floyd protests”. Wikipedia.
102. ↩ Stephen Gandel, “At least 40 lawsuits claim police brutality at George Floyd protests across U.S.”. CBS News, June 23, 2020.
103. ↩ Rainer Shea, “Intelligence leaks reveal just how ready the police state is to crack down on dissent.” June 25, 2020.
104. ↩ Chris Brooks, “After Barr Ordered FBI to “Identify Criminal Organizers,” Activists Were Intimidated at Home and at Work”. The Intercept_, June 12, 2020.
105. ↩ Katie Warren and Joey Hadden, “How all 50 states are responding to the George Floyd protests, from imposing curfews to calling in the National Guard”. Business Insider, June 4, 2020.
106. ↩ Dylan Lovan, Bruce Schreiner. “Investigators: Man fatally shot on night of protests was killed by Kentucky National Guard rifle”. Military Times, June 9, 2020.
107. ↩ Maria Sacchetti, “Curfews follow days of looting and demonstrations.” The Washington Post, June 1, 2020.
108. ↩ Christina Wilkie, Amanda Macias. “Trump threatens to deploy military as George Floyd protests continue to shake the U.S.”. CNBC, June 1, 2020.
109. ↩ FBI Counterterrorism Division. “(U) White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement”.
110. ↩ Rachel E. Greenspan, “Oregon police told armed white men that they didn’t want to look like they were ‘playing favorites’ when they advised them to stay inside after curfew”. Insider, June 5, 2020.
111. ↩ Craig Timberg, “As Trump warns of leftist violence, a dangerous threat emerges from the right-wing boogaloo movement”. The Washington Post, June 17, 2020.
112. ↩ Rachel E. Greenspan, “Violent counter-protesters mobbed a small-town BLM demonstration in Ohio amid false rumors of antifa”. Insider, June 16, 2020.
113. ↩ Lee Brown, “Men in Ku Klux Klan-style hoods crash Nevada Black Lives Matter rally”. New York Post, June 11, 2020.
114. ↩ “KKK ‘leader’ charged for attack on Black Lives Matter protesters”. BBC News, June 9, 2020.
115. ↩ Kelly Weill, “The Far Right Is Stirring Up Violence at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone”. The Daily Beast, June 16, 2020.
116. ↩ Konstantin Toropin, “Another shooting in Seattle’s police-free autonomous zone kills man and critically injures boy”. CNN, June 29, 2020.
117. ↩ “‘American Patriots’ are planning to retake the so-called Seattle “autonomous zone” from CHAZ insurrectionists”. Law Enforcement Today, June 16, 2020.
Source: MROnline
https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/11/04/anatomy-of-a-counter-insurgency-efforts-to-undermine-the-george-floyd-uprising/
#copaganda #CounterInsurgency #Ferguson #GeorgeFloyd #GeorgeFloydRebellion #GeorgeFloydUprising #insurgency #WhatMatters2020
#copaganda #counterinsurgency #ferguson #georgefloyd #georgefloydrebellion #georgefloyduprising
swtyndall.notwhatwethink @[email protected] · 2023-02-21 · 22:44 UTC

CW: We have to focus more on infectious diseases that could wreak havoc on our societies, rather than just what will make pharmaceutical companies the most money. Are these companies part of our society and our attempt to safeguard ourselves, or are they just there to feed some wealthy people's greed?! A Constellation of Storms: The Threat of Infectious Diseases And we are not getting new infectious disease drugs because they don’t generate as much revenue for pharma companies as drugs you have to take daily. We face a constellation of storms. Cancer is not going to take out society. Alzheimer’s is not going to take out society. But an infectious disease could.

We have to focus more on infectious diseases that could wreak havoc on our societies, rather than just what will make pharmaceutical companies the most money. Are these companies part of our society and our attempt to safeguard ourselves, or are they just there to feed some wealthy people's greed?!
A Constellation of Storms: The Threat of Infectious Diseases | Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine https://magazine.jhsph.edu/2023/threat-of-infectious-diseases
#GreedKills
#AllInThisTogether
"We have just completed the 23rd year of the 21st century, and we’ve already seen seven major viral epidemics (SARS, MERS, H1N1, Zika, Ebola, COVID-19, and mpox). As we face these assaults from nature every few years, we’re also losing treatments to drug resistance. And we are not getting new infectious disease drugs because they don’t generate as much revenue for pharma companies as drugs you have to take daily.
We face a constellation of storms.
Cancer is not going to take out society. Alzheimer’s is not going to take out society. But an infectious disease could.
COVID-19 took more than 1 million American lives—more lost than in all this country’s wars combined. That happened with a disease that had less than 1% mortality. What it if had had 5% mortality? Would police have gone to work? Would power have stayed on? I say no. Cancer is not going to take out society. Alzheimer’s is not going to take out society. But an infectious disease could.
This is the threat. Are we up to the task? Maybe.
I know I don’t sound optimistic, but actually I am. Look at the big trends: fewer people in poverty, lower maternal mortality, longer life expectancy. Major efforts to improve the lot of humanity continue relentlessly. And we learned much from COVID-19. We developed vaccines and drugs against COVID-19 in less than a year. Astounding.
But humans have a major weakness: We don’t have great capacity for long-term planning. As a species, we are really good at dealing with what’s in front of us. When it comes to disaster recovery or emergency medical treatment, we’re adept at using resources and knowledge at hand to help others in crisis. But for long-term crises like climate change? Not so much.
The fight against infectious disease is a long-term fight, a constant struggle in which humanity needs to invest.
At this point, you probably expect me to demand more funding. It’s true that funding is a problem, but overall society has been generous in supporting science. So I want to address a different weakness: how we use the resources we are given. We can do better science. We can do science based on Rigor, Reproducibility, and Responsibility—the pillars of our R3 Center for Innovation in Science Education.
Too much scientific research today is too safe. A recent Nature article showed that the average paper and patent are much less disruptive today than they were just a few decades ago. Safe, small-minded science won’t help us meet the existential challenge of new infectious diseases. We need extraordinary science and scientists. "

#greedkills #allinthistogether
Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] · 2021-10-15 · 08:36 UTC
What is greenwashing?

Over the course of the 20th century, capitalism preserved its momentum by moulding the ordinary person into a consumer. Using advertising to encourage in people the ravenous hunger for purchasing more stuff and the accompanying feeling of hollowness and a need for more and more.

At the end of the 20th century, environmental problems began to arise from unchecked capitalist growth

Ever-expanding growth and the over-exploitation of land, water and animals continued at pace. Even despite its immense cost to animals, ecosystems and people in the developing world.
Even despite predictions by scientists that the world would be destroyed.
Out of-control global corporates needed strong storytelling and PR to support their continued exponential growth.
This insane need for economic/corporate growth gave rise to the ‘Green Growth’ and ‘Sustainability’ movements. The marketing and PR tactics employed to justify the continued growth of these brands and products despite their destruction, is known as:
Greenwashing

https://twitter.com/esm_magazine/status/1448197400879943680?s=20
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The origins of greenwashing can be found in the origins of consumerism, advertising and marketing itself

This is most powerfully illustrated by one of the original source about marketing from between the world wars by Edward Bernays, a landmark book called Propaganda published in 1928. This book would be instrumental for setting in train the agenda for economic growth in the West in the 20th Century.

Propaganda by Edward Bernays (1928)
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.… It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world”

Mass production is profitable only if its rhythm can be maintained—that is if it can continue to sell its product in steady or increasing quantity.… Today supply must actively seek to create its corresponding demand … [and] cannot afford to wait until the public asks for its product; it must maintain constant touch, through advertising and propaganda … to assure itself the continuous demand which alone will make its costly plant profitable.
‘Propaganda’ by Edward Bernays, 1928

WHO considers marketing by the palm oil industry to be akin to tobacco and alcohol marketing
Marketing of palm oil does not occur in the traditional sense. Responding to a backlash against accusations of poor environmental and labour practices, the industry has sought to portray its products as sustainable, while highlighting the contribution to poverty alleviation.
There is also a mutual benefit for the palm oil and processed food industry, with the latter targeting advertisements for ultra-processed foods towards children (similar to efforts by the tobacco and alcohol industries in targeting children and adolescents) and the palm oil refining industry benefiting from the corresponding increase in sales of foods containing palm oil.
The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases, (2019),
Sowmya Kadandale, a Robert Martenb & Richard Smith.
World Health Organisation Bulletin.

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)
Read more
World Organisation of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) Guide for promoting sustainable palm oil
https://twitter.com/FoodNavigator/status/872467048009486336?s=20
https://youtu.be/cFDhzax7Cbc

Sustainability is meaningless, it’s time for a new enlightenment
Effectively, sustainability became the main ingredient of a “having your cake and eating it” ideology. The environment, and its ecological systems, were deemed to be sustained while equally economic development could continue apace.
But if sustainable development had delivered on its promise, humanity would now not be facing the crisis we call climate change.
Greenwashing solves nothing.
What was, and is, actually needed is the opposite of what has been promoted in order to try to maintain the economic status quo.
Dr Toni Fry, Griffith University ‘Sustainability is meaningless, it’s time for a new enlightenment, The Conversation.

Research into how to influence voluntary standards using expert knowledge
“The ability of developing countries, especially small-scale actors within them, to shape standard setting and management to their advantage depends not only on overcoming important structural differences…but also on more subtle games. These include promoting the enrolment of one expert group or kind of expert knowledge over another, using specific formats of negotiation, and legitimating particular modes of engagement over others.”
Voluntary standards, expert knowledge and the governance of sustainability networks. (2013), Ponte, S. & Cheyns, E. Glob. Netw. 13, 459–477

The Vice President of the European Parliament Heidi Hautala does not trust the RSPO’s false and weak promise of “sustainable” palm oil
She replies to my conversation on Twitter to advise of this…
Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament and part of the the Human Rights and Democracy panel and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)
“No voluntary standards or industry schemes have done the job fully [of eliminating deforestation or human rights abuses]. That is why the game-changing EU CSDDD [Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive] is mandatory. Certification is a useful tool but will not liberate the company from its duty of due diligence”
~ Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament and part of the the Human Rights and Democracy panel and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

https://twitter.com/HeidiHautala/status/1671422744683225088?s=20

Is it possible to design an eco-label without greenwashing?
In his book ‘Beyond Greenwash’ Hamish Van Der Ven somewhat naively sets out to answer that question.
Naive because embedded within capitalism is the drive towards exponential growth and the ecosystems and resources of our planet are finite – which makes it naive to think that we can continue to labour under the same system, yet expect a different result.
Still Van Der Ven has some valid insights to share here about how a eco-label could theoretically be designed to be free from greenwashing.
An eco-label without greenwashing has yet to materialise. This is because our current economic system does not consider ‘value’ to include: human rights, animal rights, the beauty of unspoiled nature and forests left intact – the only way the current system quantifies ‘value’ is financial growth. The virtue-signalling about doing the right thing and improving human rights, animal rights, environmental sustainability is greenwashing. If businesses DID care, these issues would have been sorted. Instead, they provide consumers with empty words and promises.
Extract below from ‘What’s in a label? Separating credible eco-labels from “greenwash” – Corporate Knights, 2021
Is it transparent?
Dubious eco-labels keep everything offline or hidden behind pay walls; credible eco-labels make their information freely available online, including information around breaches of rules and regulations and their resolutions, governance and funding.
Is it independent?
- Consumers and procurement professionals should be wary of self-awarded ecolabels. Instead seek out ecolabels from a credible third-party organisation.
- There should also be independence between the organisation that sets the standard and the organization that audits compliance against its criteria. This is important for preventing a conflict of interest.
- Standard-setters generally receive revenues based on how widely their eco-labels are used. An eco-labeling organization that checks compliance against its own standard has an incentive to overlook non-compliances and set a lower bar for achievement.
Is it inclusive?
Do all stakeholders get a say in decision-making? If an eco-label promotes sustainable coffee production, then it should involve coffee farmers, scientists, processers, NGOs, and community members (amongst others) in standard-setting.

10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing

Greenwashing Tactic #1: Hidden Trade Off
When a brand makes token changes while continuing with deforestation, ecocide or human rights abuses in another part of their business – this is ‘Hidden Trade Off’
For example, Nestle talks up satellite monitoring to stop palm oil deforestation. Yet…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof
Claiming a brand or commodity is green without any supporting evidence The RSPO promises to deliver this with their certification: 1. Improves the livelihoods of small holder farmers 2. Stops illegal indigenous land-grabbing and human rights abuses 3. Stops deforestation…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #3: Vagueness
Claiming a brand or commodity is ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ based on broad generalisations, unclear language or vague statements Jump to section Greenwashing: Vagueness in Language Greenwashing: Vagueness in certification standards Reality: Auditing of RSPO a failure Quote: EIA: Who Watches…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
Claiming a brand or commodity is green based on unreliable, ineffective endorsements or eco-labels such as the RSPO, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or FairTrade coffee and cocoa. Greenwashing: Fake Labels and fake certifications Ecolabels are designed to reassure consumers that…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #5: Irrelevance and Deflection
Claiming a brand, commodity or industry is green based on irrelevant information Jump to section Greenwashing: Irrelevant Topics Greenwashing: Colonial Racism Research: Palm oil greenwashing and its link to climate denialism Reality: RSPO Certification Doesn’t Stop Deforestation, Human Rights Abuses…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #6: The Lesser of Two Evils
Claiming that a brand, commodity or industry is greener than others in the same category, in order to excuse ecocide, deforestation, human rights and animal rights abuses. Jump to section Greenwashing: Lesser of Two Evils: Palm Oil Uses Less Land…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying
Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth Jump to section Greenwashing: Endangered species Reality: Endangered species Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #8: Design & Words
Using design principles and greenwashing language in order to trigger emotional and unconscious responses in consumers Jump to section Greenwashing: Design Principles Greenwashing Design Example: Palm Done Right Greenwashing Design Example: WWF Palm Oil Scorecard 2021 Greenwashing with Words: Vegan…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #9: Partnerships, Sponsorships and Research Funding
Jump to section Orangutan Land Trust funded by rainforest destroying palm oil co. Kulim Malaysia Berhad Orangutan Land Trust funded by Agropalma: during decades-long destruction of the Amazon for palm oil Orangutan Land Trust and New Britain Palm Oil (NBPOL):…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #10: Gaslighting, Harassment, Stalking and Attempting to Discredit Critics
Attempting to humiliate, gaslight, discredit, harass and stalk any vocal critics of a brand, commodity or industry certification in order to scare individuals into silence and stop them from revealing corruption Greenwashing’s most insidious and darkest form is the attempt…
Read more

Ten Tactics of ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil Greenwashing
There has never been a more urgent time for consumers to wake up to the devastation wrought by global supermarket brands for palm oil Jump to section 1. Greenwashing with Hidden Trade-Off 2. Greenwashing with No Proof 3. Greenwashing with…
Read more

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Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing
1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil
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Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] · 2021-10-15 · 08:36 UTC
What is greenwashing?

Over the course of the 20th century, capitalism preserved its momentum by moulding the ordinary person into a consumer. Using advertising to encourage in people the ravenous hunger for purchasing more stuff and the accompanying feeling of hollowness and a need for more and more.

At the end of the 20th century, environmental problems began to arise from unchecked capitalist growth

Ever-expanding growth and the over-exploitation of land, water and animals continued at pace. Even despite its immense cost to animals, ecosystems and people in the developing world.
Even despite predictions by scientists that the world would be destroyed.
Out of-control global corporates needed strong storytelling and PR to support their continued exponential growth.
This insane need for economic/corporate growth gave rise to the ‘Green Growth’ and ‘Sustainability’ movements. The marketing and PR tactics employed to justify the continued growth of these brands and products despite their destruction, is known as:
Greenwashing

https://twitter.com/esm_magazine/status/1448197400879943680?s=20
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https://twitter.com/Context_Group/status/1126528027402203138?s=20
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https://twitter.com/FoodNavigator/status/872467048009486336?s=20
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https://twitter.com/RubenBrunsveld/status/1448552977665507330?s=20
Original Tweet
https://twitter.com/Morgante_Fra/status/1191550867561836544?s=20
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https://twitter.com/Context_Group/status/1271130962089381888?s=20
Original Tweet

The origins of greenwashing can be found in the origins of consumerism, advertising and marketing itself

This is most powerfully illustrated by one of the original source about marketing from between the world wars by Edward Bernays, a landmark book called Propaganda published in 1928. This book would be instrumental for setting in train the agenda for economic growth in the West in the 20th Century.

Propaganda by Edward Bernays (1928)
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.… It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world”

Mass production is profitable only if its rhythm can be maintained—that is if it can continue to sell its product in steady or increasing quantity.… Today supply must actively seek to create its corresponding demand … [and] cannot afford to wait until the public asks for its product; it must maintain constant touch, through advertising and propaganda … to assure itself the continuous demand which alone will make its costly plant profitable.
‘Propaganda’ by Edward Bernays, 1928

WHO considers marketing by the palm oil industry to be akin to tobacco and alcohol marketing
Marketing of palm oil does not occur in the traditional sense. Responding to a backlash against accusations of poor environmental and labour practices, the industry has sought to portray its products as sustainable, while highlighting the contribution to poverty alleviation.
There is also a mutual benefit for the palm oil and processed food industry, with the latter targeting advertisements for ultra-processed foods towards children (similar to efforts by the tobacco and alcohol industries in targeting children and adolescents) and the palm oil refining industry benefiting from the corresponding increase in sales of foods containing palm oil.
The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases, (2019),
Sowmya Kadandale, a Robert Martenb & Richard Smith.
World Health Organisation Bulletin.

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)
Read more
World Organisation of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) Guide for promoting sustainable palm oil
https://twitter.com/FoodNavigator/status/872467048009486336?s=20
https://youtu.be/cFDhzax7Cbc

Sustainability is meaningless, it’s time for a new enlightenment
Effectively, sustainability became the main ingredient of a “having your cake and eating it” ideology. The environment, and its ecological systems, were deemed to be sustained while equally economic development could continue apace.
But if sustainable development had delivered on its promise, humanity would now not be facing the crisis we call climate change.
Greenwashing solves nothing.
What was, and is, actually needed is the opposite of what has been promoted in order to try to maintain the economic status quo.
Dr Toni Fry, Griffith University ‘Sustainability is meaningless, it’s time for a new enlightenment, The Conversation.

Research into how to influence voluntary standards using expert knowledge
“The ability of developing countries, especially small-scale actors within them, to shape standard setting and management to their advantage depends not only on overcoming important structural differences…but also on more subtle games. These include promoting the enrolment of one expert group or kind of expert knowledge over another, using specific formats of negotiation, and legitimating particular modes of engagement over others.”
Voluntary standards, expert knowledge and the governance of sustainability networks. (2013), Ponte, S. & Cheyns, E. Glob. Netw. 13, 459–477

The Vice President of the European Parliament Heidi Hautala does not trust the RSPO’s false and weak promise of “sustainable” palm oil
She replies to my conversation on Twitter to advise of this…
Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament and part of the the Human Rights and Democracy panel and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)
“No voluntary standards or industry schemes have done the job fully [of eliminating deforestation or human rights abuses]. That is why the game-changing EU CSDDD [Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive] is mandatory. Certification is a useful tool but will not liberate the company from its duty of due diligence”
~ Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament and part of the the Human Rights and Democracy panel and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

https://twitter.com/HeidiHautala/status/1671422744683225088?s=20

Is it possible to design an eco-label without greenwashing?
In his book ‘Beyond Greenwash’ Hamish Van Der Ven somewhat naively sets out to answer that question.
Naive because embedded within capitalism is the drive towards exponential growth and the ecosystems and resources of our planet are finite – which makes it naive to think that we can continue to labour under the same system, yet expect a different result.
Still Van Der Ven has some valid insights to share here about how a eco-label could theoretically be designed to be free from greenwashing.
An eco-label without greenwashing has yet to materialise. This is because our current economic system does not consider ‘value’ to include: human rights, animal rights, the beauty of unspoiled nature and forests left intact – the only way the current system quantifies ‘value’ is financial growth. The virtue-signalling about doing the right thing and improving human rights, animal rights, environmental sustainability is greenwashing. If businesses DID care, these issues would have been sorted. Instead, they provide consumers with empty words and promises.
Extract below from ‘What’s in a label? Separating credible eco-labels from “greenwash” – Corporate Knights, 2021
Is it transparent?
Dubious eco-labels keep everything offline or hidden behind pay walls; credible eco-labels make their information freely available online, including information around breaches of rules and regulations and their resolutions, governance and funding.
Is it independent?
- Consumers and procurement professionals should be wary of self-awarded ecolabels. Instead seek out ecolabels from a credible third-party organisation.
- There should also be independence between the organisation that sets the standard and the organization that audits compliance against its criteria. This is important for preventing a conflict of interest.
- Standard-setters generally receive revenues based on how widely their eco-labels are used. An eco-labeling organization that checks compliance against its own standard has an incentive to overlook non-compliances and set a lower bar for achievement.
Is it inclusive?
Do all stakeholders get a say in decision-making? If an eco-label promotes sustainable coffee production, then it should involve coffee farmers, scientists, processers, NGOs, and community members (amongst others) in standard-setting.

10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing

Greenwashing Tactic #1: Hidden Trade Off
When a brand makes token changes while continuing with deforestation, ecocide or human rights abuses in another part of their business – this is ‘Hidden Trade Off’
For example, Nestle talks up satellite monitoring to stop palm oil deforestation. Yet…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof
Claiming a brand or commodity is green without any supporting evidence The RSPO promises to deliver this with their certification: 1. Improves the livelihoods of small holder farmers 2. Stops illegal indigenous land-grabbing and human rights abuses 3. Stops deforestation…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #3: Vagueness
Claiming a brand or commodity is ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ based on broad generalisations, unclear language or vague statements Jump to section Greenwashing: Vagueness in Language Greenwashing: Vagueness in certification standards Reality: Auditing of RSPO a failure Quote: EIA: Who Watches…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
Claiming a brand or commodity is green based on unreliable, ineffective endorsements or eco-labels such as the RSPO, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or FairTrade coffee and cocoa. Greenwashing: Fake Labels and fake certifications Ecolabels are designed to reassure consumers that…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #5: Irrelevance and Deflection
Claiming a brand, commodity or industry is green based on irrelevant information Jump to section Greenwashing: Irrelevant Topics Greenwashing: Colonial Racism Research: Palm oil greenwashing and its link to climate denialism Reality: RSPO Certification Doesn’t Stop Deforestation, Human Rights Abuses…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #6: The Lesser of Two Evils
Claiming that a brand, commodity or industry is greener than others in the same category, in order to excuse ecocide, deforestation, human rights and animal rights abuses. Jump to section Greenwashing: Lesser of Two Evils: Palm Oil Uses Less Land…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying
Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth Jump to section Greenwashing: Endangered species Reality: Endangered species Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #8: Design & Words
Using design principles and greenwashing language in order to trigger emotional and unconscious responses in consumers Jump to section Greenwashing: Design Principles Greenwashing Design Example: Palm Done Right Greenwashing Design Example: WWF Palm Oil Scorecard 2021 Greenwashing with Words: Vegan…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #9: Partnerships, Sponsorships and Research Funding
Jump to section Orangutan Land Trust funded by rainforest destroying palm oil co. Kulim Malaysia Berhad Orangutan Land Trust funded by Agropalma: during decades-long destruction of the Amazon for palm oil Orangutan Land Trust and New Britain Palm Oil (NBPOL):…
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Greenwashing Tactic #10: Gaslighting, Harassment, Stalking and Attempting to Discredit Critics
Attempting to humiliate, gaslight, discredit, harass and stalk any vocal critics of a brand, commodity or industry certification in order to scare individuals into silence and stop them from revealing corruption Greenwashing’s most insidious and darkest form is the attempt…
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Ten Tactics of ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil Greenwashing
There has never been a more urgent time for consumers to wake up to the devastation wrought by global supermarket brands for palm oil Jump to section 1. Greenwashing with Hidden Trade-Off 2. Greenwashing with No Proof 3. Greenwashing with…
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Explore the series
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight greenwashing and deforestation by using your wallet as a weapon!
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Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing
1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil
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Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] · 2021-10-15 · 08:36 UTC
What is greenwashing?

Over the course of the 20th century, capitalism preserved its momentum by moulding the ordinary person into a consumer. Using advertising to encourage in people the ravenous hunger for purchasing more stuff and the accompanying feeling of hollowness and a need for more and more.

At the end of the 20th century, environmental problems began to arise from unchecked capitalist growth

Ever-expanding growth and the over-exploitation of land, water and animals continued at pace. Even despite its immense cost to animals, ecosystems and people in the developing world.
Even despite predictions by scientists that the world would be destroyed.
Out of-control global corporates needed strong storytelling and PR to support their continued exponential growth.
This insane need for economic/corporate growth gave rise to the ‘Green Growth’ and ‘Sustainability’ movements. The marketing and PR tactics employed to justify the continued growth of these brands and products despite their destruction, is known as:
Greenwashing

https://twitter.com/esm_magazine/status/1448197400879943680?s=20
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https://twitter.com/Context_Group/status/1126528027402203138?s=20
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https://twitter.com/FoodNavigator/status/872467048009486336?s=20
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https://twitter.com/RubenBrunsveld/status/1448552977665507330?s=20
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https://twitter.com/Morgante_Fra/status/1191550867561836544?s=20
Original Tweet
https://twitter.com/Context_Group/status/1271130962089381888?s=20
Original Tweet

The origins of greenwashing can be found in the origins of consumerism, advertising and marketing itself

This is most powerfully illustrated by one of the original source about marketing from between the world wars by Edward Bernays, a landmark book called Propaganda published in 1928. This book would be instrumental for setting in train the agenda for economic growth in the West in the 20th Century.

Propaganda by Edward Bernays (1928)
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.… It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world”

Mass production is profitable only if its rhythm can be maintained—that is if it can continue to sell its product in steady or increasing quantity.… Today supply must actively seek to create its corresponding demand … [and] cannot afford to wait until the public asks for its product; it must maintain constant touch, through advertising and propaganda … to assure itself the continuous demand which alone will make its costly plant profitable.
‘Propaganda’ by Edward Bernays, 1928

WHO considers marketing by the palm oil industry to be akin to tobacco and alcohol marketing
Marketing of palm oil does not occur in the traditional sense. Responding to a backlash against accusations of poor environmental and labour practices, the industry has sought to portray its products as sustainable, while highlighting the contribution to poverty alleviation.
There is also a mutual benefit for the palm oil and processed food industry, with the latter targeting advertisements for ultra-processed foods towards children (similar to efforts by the tobacco and alcohol industries in targeting children and adolescents) and the palm oil refining industry benefiting from the corresponding increase in sales of foods containing palm oil.
The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases, (2019),
Sowmya Kadandale, a Robert Martenb & Richard Smith.
World Health Organisation Bulletin.

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)
Read more
World Organisation of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) Guide for promoting sustainable palm oil
https://twitter.com/FoodNavigator/status/872467048009486336?s=20
https://youtu.be/cFDhzax7Cbc

Sustainability is meaningless, it’s time for a new enlightenment
Effectively, sustainability became the main ingredient of a “having your cake and eating it” ideology. The environment, and its ecological systems, were deemed to be sustained while equally economic development could continue apace.
But if sustainable development had delivered on its promise, humanity would now not be facing the crisis we call climate change.
Greenwashing solves nothing.
What was, and is, actually needed is the opposite of what has been promoted in order to try to maintain the economic status quo.
Dr Toni Fry, Griffith University ‘Sustainability is meaningless, it’s time for a new enlightenment, The Conversation.

Research into how to influence voluntary standards using expert knowledge
“The ability of developing countries, especially small-scale actors within them, to shape standard setting and management to their advantage depends not only on overcoming important structural differences…but also on more subtle games. These include promoting the enrolment of one expert group or kind of expert knowledge over another, using specific formats of negotiation, and legitimating particular modes of engagement over others.”
Voluntary standards, expert knowledge and the governance of sustainability networks. (2013), Ponte, S. & Cheyns, E. Glob. Netw. 13, 459–477

The Vice President of the European Parliament Heidi Hautala does not trust the RSPO’s false and weak promise of “sustainable” palm oil
She replies to my conversation on Twitter to advise of this…
Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament and part of the the Human Rights and Democracy panel and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)
“No voluntary standards or industry schemes have done the job fully [of eliminating deforestation or human rights abuses]. That is why the game-changing EU CSDDD [Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive] is mandatory. Certification is a useful tool but will not liberate the company from its duty of due diligence”
~ Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament and part of the the Human Rights and Democracy panel and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

https://twitter.com/HeidiHautala/status/1671422744683225088?s=20

Is it possible to design an eco-label without greenwashing?
In his book ‘Beyond Greenwash’ Hamish Van Der Ven somewhat naively sets out to answer that question.
Naive because embedded within capitalism is the drive towards exponential growth and the ecosystems and resources of our planet are finite – which makes it naive to think that we can continue to labour under the same system, yet expect a different result.
Still Van Der Ven has some valid insights to share here about how a eco-label could theoretically be designed to be free from greenwashing.
An eco-label without greenwashing has yet to materialise. This is because our current economic system does not consider ‘value’ to include: human rights, animal rights, the beauty of unspoiled nature and forests left intact – the only way the current system quantifies ‘value’ is financial growth. The virtue-signalling about doing the right thing and improving human rights, animal rights, environmental sustainability is greenwashing. If businesses DID care, these issues would have been sorted. Instead, they provide consumers with empty words and promises.
Extract below from ‘What’s in a label? Separating credible eco-labels from “greenwash” – Corporate Knights, 2021
Is it transparent?
Dubious eco-labels keep everything offline or hidden behind pay walls; credible eco-labels make their information freely available online, including information around breaches of rules and regulations and their resolutions, governance and funding.
Is it independent?
- Consumers and procurement professionals should be wary of self-awarded ecolabels. Instead seek out ecolabels from a credible third-party organisation.
- There should also be independence between the organisation that sets the standard and the organization that audits compliance against its criteria. This is important for preventing a conflict of interest.
- Standard-setters generally receive revenues based on how widely their eco-labels are used. An eco-labeling organization that checks compliance against its own standard has an incentive to overlook non-compliances and set a lower bar for achievement.
Is it inclusive?
Do all stakeholders get a say in decision-making? If an eco-label promotes sustainable coffee production, then it should involve coffee farmers, scientists, processers, NGOs, and community members (amongst others) in standard-setting.

10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing

Greenwashing Tactic #1: Hidden Trade Off
When a brand makes token changes while continuing with deforestation, ecocide or human rights abuses in another part of their business – this is ‘Hidden Trade Off’
For example, Nestle talks up satellite monitoring to stop palm oil deforestation. Yet…
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Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof
Claiming a brand or commodity is green without any supporting evidence The RSPO promises to deliver this with their certification: 1. Improves the livelihoods of small holder farmers 2. Stops illegal indigenous land-grabbing and human rights abuses 3. Stops deforestation…
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Greenwashing Tactic #3: Vagueness
Claiming a brand or commodity is ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ based on broad generalisations, unclear language or vague statements Jump to section Greenwashing: Vagueness in Language Greenwashing: Vagueness in certification standards Reality: Auditing of RSPO a failure Quote: EIA: Who Watches…
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Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
Claiming a brand or commodity is green based on unreliable, ineffective endorsements or eco-labels such as the RSPO, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or FairTrade coffee and cocoa. Greenwashing: Fake Labels and fake certifications Ecolabels are designed to reassure consumers that…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #5: Irrelevance and Deflection
Claiming a brand, commodity or industry is green based on irrelevant information Jump to section Greenwashing: Irrelevant Topics Greenwashing: Colonial Racism Research: Palm oil greenwashing and its link to climate denialism Reality: RSPO Certification Doesn’t Stop Deforestation, Human Rights Abuses…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #6: The Lesser of Two Evils
Claiming that a brand, commodity or industry is greener than others in the same category, in order to excuse ecocide, deforestation, human rights and animal rights abuses. Jump to section Greenwashing: Lesser of Two Evils: Palm Oil Uses Less Land…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying
Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth Jump to section Greenwashing: Endangered species Reality: Endangered species Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #8: Design & Words
Using design principles and greenwashing language in order to trigger emotional and unconscious responses in consumers Jump to section Greenwashing: Design Principles Greenwashing Design Example: Palm Done Right Greenwashing Design Example: WWF Palm Oil Scorecard 2021 Greenwashing with Words: Vegan…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #9: Partnerships, Sponsorships and Research Funding
Jump to section Orangutan Land Trust funded by rainforest destroying palm oil co. Kulim Malaysia Berhad Orangutan Land Trust funded by Agropalma: during decades-long destruction of the Amazon for palm oil Orangutan Land Trust and New Britain Palm Oil (NBPOL):…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #10: Gaslighting, Harassment, Stalking and Attempting to Discredit Critics
Attempting to humiliate, gaslight, discredit, harass and stalk any vocal critics of a brand, commodity or industry certification in order to scare individuals into silence and stop them from revealing corruption Greenwashing’s most insidious and darkest form is the attempt…
Read more

Ten Tactics of ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil Greenwashing
There has never been a more urgent time for consumers to wake up to the devastation wrought by global supermarket brands for palm oil Jump to section 1. Greenwashing with Hidden Trade-Off 2. Greenwashing with No Proof 3. Greenwashing with…
Read more

Explore the series
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight greenwashing and deforestation by using your wallet as a weapon!
Find out more
Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing
1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil
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Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] · 2021-10-15 · 08:36 UTC
What is greenwashing?

Over the course of the 20th century, capitalism preserved its momentum by moulding the ordinary person into a consumer. Using advertising to encourage in people the ravenous hunger for purchasing more stuff and the accompanying feeling of hollowness and a need for more and more.

At the end of the 20th century, environmental problems began to arise from unchecked capitalist growth

Ever-expanding growth and the over-exploitation of land, water and animals continued at pace. Even despite its immense cost to animals, ecosystems and people in the developing world.
Even despite predictions by scientists that the world would be destroyed.
Out of-control global corporates needed strong storytelling and PR to support their continued exponential growth.
This insane need for economic/corporate growth gave rise to the ‘Green Growth’ and ‘Sustainability’ movements. The marketing and PR tactics employed to justify the continued growth of these brands and products despite their destruction, is known as:
Greenwashing

https://twitter.com/esm_magazine/status/1448197400879943680?s=20
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https://twitter.com/Context_Group/status/1126528027402203138?s=20
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https://twitter.com/FoodNavigator/status/872467048009486336?s=20
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https://twitter.com/RubenBrunsveld/status/1448552977665507330?s=20
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https://twitter.com/Morgante_Fra/status/1191550867561836544?s=20
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https://twitter.com/Context_Group/status/1271130962089381888?s=20
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The origins of greenwashing can be found in the origins of consumerism, advertising and marketing itself

This is most powerfully illustrated by one of the original source about marketing from between the world wars by Edward Bernays, a landmark book called Propaganda published in 1928. This book would be instrumental for setting in train the agenda for economic growth in the West in the 20th Century.

Propaganda by Edward Bernays (1928)
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.… It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world”

Mass production is profitable only if its rhythm can be maintained—that is if it can continue to sell its product in steady or increasing quantity.… Today supply must actively seek to create its corresponding demand … [and] cannot afford to wait until the public asks for its product; it must maintain constant touch, through advertising and propaganda … to assure itself the continuous demand which alone will make its costly plant profitable.
‘Propaganda’ by Edward Bernays, 1928

WHO considers marketing by the palm oil industry to be akin to tobacco and alcohol marketing
Marketing of palm oil does not occur in the traditional sense. Responding to a backlash against accusations of poor environmental and labour practices, the industry has sought to portray its products as sustainable, while highlighting the contribution to poverty alleviation.
There is also a mutual benefit for the palm oil and processed food industry, with the latter targeting advertisements for ultra-processed foods towards children (similar to efforts by the tobacco and alcohol industries in targeting children and adolescents) and the palm oil refining industry benefiting from the corresponding increase in sales of foods containing palm oil.
The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases, (2019),
Sowmya Kadandale, a Robert Martenb & Richard Smith.
World Health Organisation Bulletin.

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)
Read more
World Organisation of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) Guide for promoting sustainable palm oil
https://twitter.com/FoodNavigator/status/872467048009486336?s=20
https://youtu.be/cFDhzax7Cbc

Sustainability is meaningless, it’s time for a new enlightenment
Effectively, sustainability became the main ingredient of a “having your cake and eating it” ideology. The environment, and its ecological systems, were deemed to be sustained while equally economic development could continue apace.
But if sustainable development had delivered on its promise, humanity would now not be facing the crisis we call climate change.
Greenwashing solves nothing.
What was, and is, actually needed is the opposite of what has been promoted in order to try to maintain the economic status quo.
Dr Toni Fry, Griffith University ‘Sustainability is meaningless, it’s time for a new enlightenment, The Conversation.

Research into how to influence voluntary standards using expert knowledge
“The ability of developing countries, especially small-scale actors within them, to shape standard setting and management to their advantage depends not only on overcoming important structural differences…but also on more subtle games. These include promoting the enrolment of one expert group or kind of expert knowledge over another, using specific formats of negotiation, and legitimating particular modes of engagement over others.”
Voluntary standards, expert knowledge and the governance of sustainability networks. (2013), Ponte, S. & Cheyns, E. Glob. Netw. 13, 459–477

The Vice President of the European Parliament Heidi Hautala does not trust the RSPO’s false and weak promise of “sustainable” palm oil
She replies to my conversation on Twitter to advise of this…
Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament and part of the the Human Rights and Democracy panel and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)
“No voluntary standards or industry schemes have done the job fully [of eliminating deforestation or human rights abuses]. That is why the game-changing EU CSDDD [Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive] is mandatory. Certification is a useful tool but will not liberate the company from its duty of due diligence”
~ Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament and part of the the Human Rights and Democracy panel and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

https://twitter.com/HeidiHautala/status/1671422744683225088?s=20

Is it possible to design an eco-label without greenwashing?
In his book ‘Beyond Greenwash’ Hamish Van Der Ven somewhat naively sets out to answer that question.
Naive because embedded within capitalism is the drive towards exponential growth and the ecosystems and resources of our planet are finite – which makes it naive to think that we can continue to labour under the same system, yet expect a different result.
Still Van Der Ven has some valid insights to share here about how a eco-label could theoretically be designed to be free from greenwashing.
An eco-label without greenwashing has yet to materialise. This is because our current economic system does not consider ‘value’ to include: human rights, animal rights, the beauty of unspoiled nature and forests left intact – the only way the current system quantifies ‘value’ is financial growth. The virtue-signalling about doing the right thing and improving human rights, animal rights, environmental sustainability is greenwashing. If businesses DID care, these issues would have been sorted. Instead, they provide consumers with empty words and promises.
Extract below from ‘What’s in a label? Separating credible eco-labels from “greenwash” – Corporate Knights, 2021
Is it transparent?
Dubious eco-labels keep everything offline or hidden behind pay walls; credible eco-labels make their information freely available online, including information around breaches of rules and regulations and their resolutions, governance and funding.
Is it independent?
- Consumers and procurement professionals should be wary of self-awarded ecolabels. Instead seek out ecolabels from a credible third-party organisation.
- There should also be independence between the organisation that sets the standard and the organization that audits compliance against its criteria. This is important for preventing a conflict of interest.
- Standard-setters generally receive revenues based on how widely their eco-labels are used. An eco-labeling organization that checks compliance against its own standard has an incentive to overlook non-compliances and set a lower bar for achievement.
Is it inclusive?
Do all stakeholders get a say in decision-making? If an eco-label promotes sustainable coffee production, then it should involve coffee farmers, scientists, processers, NGOs, and community members (amongst others) in standard-setting.

10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing

Greenwashing Tactic #1: Hidden Trade Off
When a brand makes token changes while continuing with deforestation, ecocide or human rights abuses in another part of their business – this is ‘Hidden Trade Off’
For example, Nestle talks up satellite monitoring to stop palm oil deforestation. Yet…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof
Claiming a brand or commodity is green without any supporting evidence The RSPO promises to deliver this with their certification: 1. Improves the livelihoods of small holder farmers 2. Stops illegal indigenous land-grabbing and human rights abuses 3. Stops deforestation…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #3: Vagueness
Claiming a brand or commodity is ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ based on broad generalisations, unclear language or vague statements Jump to section Greenwashing: Vagueness in Language Greenwashing: Vagueness in certification standards Reality: Auditing of RSPO a failure Quote: EIA: Who Watches…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
Claiming a brand or commodity is green based on unreliable, ineffective endorsements or eco-labels such as the RSPO, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or FairTrade coffee and cocoa. Greenwashing: Fake Labels and fake certifications Ecolabels are designed to reassure consumers that…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #5: Irrelevance and Deflection
Claiming a brand, commodity or industry is green based on irrelevant information Jump to section Greenwashing: Irrelevant Topics Greenwashing: Colonial Racism Research: Palm oil greenwashing and its link to climate denialism Reality: RSPO Certification Doesn’t Stop Deforestation, Human Rights Abuses…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #6: The Lesser of Two Evils
Claiming that a brand, commodity or industry is greener than others in the same category, in order to excuse ecocide, deforestation, human rights and animal rights abuses. Jump to section Greenwashing: Lesser of Two Evils: Palm Oil Uses Less Land…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying
Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth Jump to section Greenwashing: Endangered species Reality: Endangered species Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #8: Design & Words
Using design principles and greenwashing language in order to trigger emotional and unconscious responses in consumers Jump to section Greenwashing: Design Principles Greenwashing Design Example: Palm Done Right Greenwashing Design Example: WWF Palm Oil Scorecard 2021 Greenwashing with Words: Vegan…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #9: Partnerships, Sponsorships and Research Funding
Jump to section Orangutan Land Trust funded by rainforest destroying palm oil co. Kulim Malaysia Berhad Orangutan Land Trust funded by Agropalma: during decades-long destruction of the Amazon for palm oil Orangutan Land Trust and New Britain Palm Oil (NBPOL):…
Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #10: Gaslighting, Harassment, Stalking and Attempting to Discredit Critics
Attempting to humiliate, gaslight, discredit, harass and stalk any vocal critics of a brand, commodity or industry certification in order to scare individuals into silence and stop them from revealing corruption Greenwashing’s most insidious and darkest form is the attempt…
Read more

Ten Tactics of ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil Greenwashing
There has never been a more urgent time for consumers to wake up to the devastation wrought by global supermarket brands for palm oil Jump to section 1. Greenwashing with Hidden Trade-Off 2. Greenwashing with No Proof 3. Greenwashing with…
Read more

Explore the series
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Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight greenwashing and deforestation by using your wallet as a weapon!
Find out more
Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing
1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
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10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
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14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil
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Ermanno @[email protected] · 2020-07-18 · 21:35 UTC

CW: The police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were sparks that reignited smoldering fury against authorities across the globe. One of the most watched locations has been Seattle, where protestors barricaded off a cop-free zone, drawing outsize attention and, in the process, forming a new case study in the uses of technology both to […]

♲ @[email protected]:
For Seattle’s cop-free protest zone, tech is both a revolutionary asset and disastrous liability
The police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were sparks that reignited smoldering fury against authorities across the globe. One of the most watched locations has been Seattle, where protestors barricaded off a cop-free zone, drawing outsize attention and, in the process, forming a new case study in the uses of technology both to advance a cause and to drown it in disinformation.

From the actual recording of Floyd’s killing and the protests and riots that followed, to documenting the police’s brutal response and sudden withdrawal, to the establishment of and widespread commentary on an improvised community, technology has played a crucial role throughout. But to center things properly, it is how people are using technology, not the technology itself, that has become more important.

More than ever before, information truly is power, and imbalances in who holds that power have been both reinforced and challenged in the course of events here. It’s heartening to see live streaming and instant distribution of video lead to accountability, but it’s also sickening to see deliberate campaigns to manipulate and subvert reality — and I say reality because it’s what I’ve seen with my own eyes. As a brief preamble, I should disclose some things.

First, I support the causes being advanced by protestors in Seattle. It would be useless to deny that I have taken sides here — partly because claims of objectivity are little more than a fig leaf for editorial decisions in matters of grave injustice and obvious abuses of power; but my presence at the protests has unavoidably been documented whether I like it or not, so there’s no sense in denying it.

Because second, I live on Capitol Hill, just blocks away from the zone. I’ve been eyewitness to important events, (with a built-in tech angle at that) and it would be irresponsible for me not to use the privilege of this platform to share aspects of them that have been only sporadically covered.

And third, these protests have been organized and led by people of color, and I am a white guy who, comparatively, has only barely taken part. On issues of race, policing, and inclusion I will defer to others better equipped to educate: writers like Ijeoma Oluo (whom we recently interviewed), researchers like Joy Buolamwini, and publications like Blavity.

With that out of the way, this article will focus on three topics: The collection and use of digital media on both sides of police clashes; the use of social media and battle of information versus disinformation in the cop-free zone; and the emergence of live streaming as an indispensable medium for this and future movements.
A matter of perspective

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Image Credits: JASON REDMOND/AFP / Getty Images

The initial protests in Seattle in late May, which devolved in some locations into riots involving the despoliation and destruction of police cruisers (somehow left unattended and filled with weapons), are difficult to track because they were full of movement and chaos. But they were thoroughly, if haphazardly, documented by attendees with the presence of mind to record what they were seeing.

It’s telling that there has been little or no attempt at a counter-narrative from Seattle authorities when their officers were repeatedly (and continually as of this writing) filmed employing plainly excessive force against unarmed, often unresisting protestors, or indiscriminately firing tear gas, pepper spray, and flashbangs into crowds. One woman’s heart stopped three times after being struck by a blast ball that appeared to be deliberately aimed at her, while thousands watched.

Where, one wonders, is the exonerating footage from the police side showing the protestors being described as aggressive, or non-compliant, or whatever key words officers use to justify brutality during a melee of their own creation? And yet the police are at a loss. Presented with innumerable examples of bad behavior, the force seems to have decided day after day to stand fast and let it blow over.

But it’s hard to do that when you have something like a video going viral of a child who’s been maced:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/uKdqmBN744U?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent

This image, which came to represent the Seattle PD’s inhumane treatment of protestors (they stand by wielding batons as the crying kid is treated), was taken by a local named Evan Hreha. It’s hard to erase such a powerful image — so they arrested him.

Hreha was arrested a week later by a dozen officers and booked into jail for, supposedly, pointing a laser at police. It hardly needs to be said that this account strains credibility. For one thing, Hreha says he was running a hot dog stand with friends at the time of the alleged offense. But it is absurd that police would or could identify one person in a crowd at a distance, then investigate and arrest them — for anything, let alone a fleeting non-violent laser use. And it just happens to be the man behind a viral video that makes the cops look bad.

This seems to be plainly a case of retaliation, but the police have made themselves unaccountable by controlling the information available. I contacted the records department to ask for anything related to the investigation and arrest of Hreha (among others), but it will be months before the police will release anything, if indeed they ever do.

Hreha was released two days later with no charges filed. But the chilling effect of intimidating someone who caught police in an act of brutality on camera had been accomplished. The officer who maced the kid, incidentally, has yet to be officially identified or disciplined.
Does tech have the guts to deploy its resources against police brutality?
https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/09/does-tech-have-the-guts-to-deploy-its-resources-against-police-brutality/embed/#?secret=gdf5qC5tCH

This is exemplary of the power imbalance in conflicts of this type: On one side, voluminous documentation from people on the ground that is disorganized and difficult to bring to bear; on the other, documentation that is carefully organized and tightly controlled, allowing the exertion of authority using that control as leverage. Police have also begun the process of repurposing news and protestor footage for their own purposes.

But this story doesn’t always play out the way the cops would prefer.

In the first week of June, protestors were marching up Pine to confront the police for this and other acts, after which they would have, like many similar protests, moved on to rally in Volunteer Park and then gone home, to do it again another day. But police blocked them at 11th and Pine with a barricade and line of police in riot gear.

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SEATTLE, WA – JUNE 08: A person holds flowers as demonstrators clash with police near the Seattle Police Departments East Precinct shortly after midnight on June 8, 2020 in Seattle, Washington.

The group did not disperse as ordered, saying they would stay and protest peacefully until the police moved out of the way. Predictably, when curfew came, the police were liberal in their deployment of tear gas and flashbangs, causing serious harm to some protestors and terror across the entire neighborhood. This continued and grew in intensity for several days and nights. (In many cities these clashes are ongoing.)

The justification for using their “less lethal” tools with such gusto was predictable: The crowd was violent, throwing bricks and even improvised explosives at officers. But these claims were repeatedly and firmly dismantled, because these encounters were filmed in high definition from multiple angles, practically from start to finish.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/D5sQt_bQS4A?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent

One particularly revealing video was shot by a person on a roof directly over the barriers. It quite clearly shows a peaceful crowd chanting and definitely not throwing rocks and bottles. Anyone can review it and see that there was not only no violence on the part of protestors, but that the flashpoint moment occurred (documented in other videos as well) when a cop tore a now-famous pink umbrella from the grip of a person, who in offering any resistance provided the excuse for the police to retaliate — indiscriminately and utterly disproportionately.

Huge volumes of evidence of police brutality have resulted almost solely from the oft-mocked habit of young people to always have their phone in hand. (We’re not far from the always-recording situation I posited nearly 10 years ago.)

“They picked the wrong generation to pull this shit on,” said TK, a protest organizer I spoke with. “Because governments didn’t create this power — this was created by normal, regular-smegular people just like all of us. The only people that can stop it is the people that created it.”

Rarely have the police released images or footage of their own, and when they do it is often a brutal self-own. They posted images of the aforementioned “improvised explosive” on Twitter shortly after one group assault on protestors, and within seconds people had pointed out it was a prayer candle, probably from a nearby memorial smashed during the melee. The police revised their reference to it as an “incendiary device,” which, while technically true, exposes the type of willful obscuration of the truth that was frequently to be found in the department’s communications.

Following another incident, body cam footage was released to support the narrative that a “violent crowd” had prevented the police from reaching a shooting victim in the protest zone and were therefore culpable in his death. People soon pointed out that timestamps visible in the video show that the cops arrived 20 minutes after the shooting, and after the victim had been taken to the hospital in a private car — because EMTs (for good reason) would not enter the scene before police secured it.
We now know that the public statement put out by Seattle Police following the shooting at CHOP on Friday night, was mostly fictitious, as revealed by their own bodycam footage. They showed up 10 minutes later than they claim, after the victim had been transported to Harborview. pic.twitter.com/wN62gQxX8c

— Spek the Lawless (@spekulation) June 22, 2020

When the police chief made claims of rape and violence in the protest zone, it was pointed out that the SPD’s own crime reports system showed no such thing. Then her claim that armed gangs were extorting local businesses was quickly put down as well, by the businesses themselves — embarrassingly, the source of that claim was a totally invented account on a right-wing blog. (Ironically, once the police retook the zone, businesses quickly complained that their presence had forced them to close.)

And of course there are the innumerable videos, here as elsewhere, of extreme force being used on unresisting protestors, frequently with the apparently now requisite knee on the neck. These will hopefully prove useful later as counterbalance to police claims, and while officers still obscure their badges and refuse to identify themselves, the quality of the video makes identifying them by other means trivial.
Cops attack peaceful protestors at Broadway and Pine. 5:30pm July 2nd. Dive tackled the kid next to me, put a knee on his neck. Can’t stress enough he did nothing.

Please share.#SeattleProtests #SeattleProtestComm #Seattle pic.twitter.com/mI5DTASEI4

— eli (@sre_li) July 3, 2020

The digital record has resulted in officers, the department and the chief being caught in lie after lie after lie. These are not misunderstandings or honest mistakes but misrepresentations deliberately crafted to discredit protestors and shield the department. It’s clear that if others were not carefully documenting every encounter, and critically investigating police statements and evidence, the lies would have shortly become the only, and therefore the true, record of what happened.

What I’ve described took place in Seattle, but others have compiled abuses in L.A., New York, Portland, and Chicago — where cops have just been caught in another type of large-scale manipulation of the record.

Now in many cities these departments are facing cuts or total defunding, as much as the result of their failure to successfully falsify the narrative as their more fundamental failures as institutions.

“This generation is not dumb, as much as they want to believe that. ‘You guys are just a bunch of dumb kids.’ Okay, well, this bunch of dumb kids is about to get the city to take half of your budget,” said TK. “So we ain’t that dumb, apparently.”

A last example of the power of social media in the pursuit of problematic police came late in the writing of this piece. After two protestors were struck and one killed on a closed highway after a driver circumvented police barriers, a detective from the King county Sheriff’s office made several brutally offensive posts on Facebook — public ones.

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These were spotted by concerned citizens, who took screenshots not just of the content but also the list of people who had liked or commented positively on the posts, looking them up, as well. This proved to be a shrewd tactic, for when the posts began to make waves online, Brown’s entire Facebook page was deleted.

Turns out Detective Brown is not only Governor Jay Inslee’s cousin, but reportedly also the head of county executive Dow Constantine’s security detail and his sometime driver; a 40-year veteran of the force who has been accused of abusive behavior before. Within 48 hours Detective Brown was on leave and being investigated. One hopes that the officers and public officials who publicly endorsed Brown’s behavior will soon be confronted, as well. But how quickly this avenue of recourse would have disappeared had they been tipped off.

Keeping the cops honest is a welcome application of what might be termed citizen forensics, but social media would soon provide a counter-example of technology being deployed to discredit the protestors and mislead millions.
In the Zone

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A rally at the cop-free zone on Capitol Hill on June 10.

Believe it or not, the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone wasn’t anyone’s idea.

The now infamous cop-free area barricaded off by protestors has been profiled frequently and, almost without exception, incompletely and inaccurately, in mainstream news and on social media. It’s an instructive but deeply frustrating example of how, as the old saying goes, “A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on.”

A very brief origin story is as follows: On June 8, following a particularly violent yet ultimately unsuccessful attempt to purge the area of protestors the previous night, the police abruptly announced they would be leaving the East Precinct building, taking all valuables, weapons, and sensitive documents with them.

Protestors were astonished. They had not asked for this and had no reason to — their demands were about defunding the police, investing in the community, and releasing jailed protestors. Incredibly, even now no one has taken responsibility for ordering the abandonment; the mayor and police chief have both denied doing so. But abandon it, they did.

Protestors immediately continued marching, some continuing to Volunteer Park and others remaining behind, citing the need to protect the precinct from anyone who might want to damage it, for days on end if necessary and at all hours. If you’re skeptical, remember: This is all on video. People learned early on that many people only believe what they have seen, and even then only sometimes.

Since a car had nearly plowed through protestors the previous day and the driver actually shot someone (before being gently taken into custody by police), and hearing reports of right-wing agitators in the area, the protestors redeployed the barriers to make a safe zone at the ends of nearby streets. Someone spray painted “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” on one, inadvertently branding the whole movement.
‘Welcome to Free Capitol Hill’ — Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone forms around emptied East Precinct — UPDATE
https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2020/06/welcome-to-free-capitol-hill-capitol-hill-autonomous-zone-forms-around-emptied-east-precinct/embed/#?secret=qUJTj18w53

What followed in the CHAZ (later the CHOP) was several days and nights of compelling events, speakers and tributes to lost lives, attended by thousands, including myself.

But what followed online was a nonstop deluge of wild exaggerations, manipulated media, racist vitriol and, of course, innumerable death threats. It would be impossible to list even a fraction of the information online that I could contradict with what I saw with my own eyes, but here are a few examples.

The most glaring one has to be, of course, Fox News photoshopping a gunman into multiple unrelated scenes of destruction and dishonestly using those as evidence of chaos in the zone. This was done so poorly it would be comical if it were not part of a larger, continuing narrative seeking to discredit the protests and zone as an antifa-run separatist state.

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One of the images run by Fox News, a combination of one by David Ryder (whose photos for Getty illustrate this piece) with two by Karen Ducey.

The separatist narrative, which persists even today, was invented and amplified by lazy or traffic-hungry outlets and pundits with little evidence besides the tongue-in-cheek name.

There was not always the need to invent controversial imagery (indeed, the gunman Fox used really existed). Video of one person handing out rifles to his crew quickly made the rounds and, combined with the police chief’s irresponsible rumor-mongering, word of a “warlord” emerged.

Without getting into the complex and largely improvisational politics of the zone, this character and his heavily armed presence were generally not approved of. But for the weeks following this event I saw the image, his name and the warlord trope posted thousands of times, coming up every single day.

It’s tempting to say it’s hard to misconstrue a guy distributing assault rifles from the back of his car. But it is testament to the fractured narrative presented online that crucial context was almost always left out or substituted by falsehoods. Not only had a gunman actually shot a protestor after driving his car into the crowd the previous day, but at the very moment of the video, the police were suspected to have been engaged in a disinformation campaign intended to provoke conflict.

Public police scanner frequencies that night (which it was known protestors were monitoring) were full of reports of a group of 20-30 armed “Proud Boys” (a far-right group) moving toward the protest zone. Bike police on scanners said they followed the group for blocks, asked where they were headed (the CHAZ), tried to dissuade them from going there, and eventually reported that they spontaneously dispersed before reaching their destination.

Now, a large group of armed men working their way up from Downtown to Capitol Hill would be a rather conspicuous sight even in those days when record numbers of armed men walked the streets. Yet none of the thousands of protestors and allies spread throughout the city watching for them saw anything matching that description during or after. No communications from known Proud Boys (some of whom would in fact show up later to attack a protestor on video) indicated a presence. More directly, police descriptions of the group crossing certain intersections were contradicted by live traffic cameras showing those intersections, which showed no such thing.

But once again the apparent police intention of provocation via misinformation had been achieved. People at the CHAZ, already justifiably worried about violence, were put on high alert and armed themselves, producing a spectacle that even now persists on social media as a way to paint the entire protest with one brush.

The repeated amplification of individual images had some troubling commonalities, in particular the barely veiled parlance of racism. People in the protest zone and especially Black men, images of whom frequently accompanied these tweets and other posts, were invariably described as “thugs,” “savages,” “animals,” “feral,” and all the rest. Tellingly, those employing this vile lexicon were seldom Seattle or Capitol Hill residents; Twitter is very efficient at importing hate.

Indeed it did not take long for the CHAZ, having achieved the dubious distinction of attracting what is called national interest, to become the target of coordinated interference, harassment and disinformation campaigns by people all over the country. The resulting mess is a concise illustration of the incredible promise and complete inadequacy of online platforms in times like these.

The number of people and groups involved in these protests had made Twitter, with its accessibility and relative permanence, an invaluable tool for the dissemination of important information. While private groups on Signal, WhatsApp and Discord were also used, it was clearly better for things like police positioning, march updates, attacks on protestors and other crucial live communications to make the information as prominent and public as possible.
“There was a lot of momentum being built up, people learning and educating themselves. So this was the chance to finally put everything we’d learned into action.”

TK and her fellow organizer Tatii explained that social media was at the heart of their work, though the end result of taking to the streets was always the ultimate goal.

“Social media is a huge part because without it, we can’t do shit,” Tatii said bluntly. “When it comes to finding the information that we need and finding resources to help Black people, all of that is through technology. That’s how we network with people, that’s how people reach out to us. That’s how we get people telling us about police scanners. There are a lot of group chats, like with our medics, our car brigade, our bike brigade. It’s all through social media.”

“Scouts let us know if like there’s 30 bike cops coming down Broadway. It’s crucial when you are trying to strategically plan around that type of stuff, to keep from being cornered and boxed in,” said TK.

“At least on the Black side of social media, it’s constantly been talked about, Black Lives Matter,” added Tatii. “There was a lot of momentum being built up, people learning and educating themselves. So this was the chance to finally put everything we’d learned into action.”

It’s easy to take Twitter for granted, so we should be sure to give the platform due credit for the fundamental capability it provides. Many I’ve spoken to here emphasized that they trusted what they read from accounts with a verifiable track record more than what they saw in the perennially out-of-date local news. In fact, as Tatii and TK noted, many of their fellow organizers came to Seattle specifically to learn for themselves the truth behind mainstream reports that didn’t pass a gut test.

But the choice to publicly organize via hashtag, for all that it made important information available quickly to as many people as possible, had two major consequences.

First, it fragmented that information almost to the point of usability: One never knew whether it was #seattleprotest or #seattleprotests, #seattleprotestcomms, #seatleprotest (yes), plain old #seattle, #defundSPD, or a handful of others. This was only exacerbated with the creation of the CHAZ, which birthed a dozen new hashtags of varying quality and population. Instagram provided powerful amplification effects but little verification or network building.

Twitter also exposed this stream of important information to eager antagonists across the country, who flooded those hashtags with abuse and misinformation. Posts with images from other or past protests were used to mislead or misrepresent the present ones, and pictures of police around the area from other times were used in an attempt to spook those who had learned to be wary of SPD’s presence. Fake names and events were publicized, fake demands issued and met, and fake accounts claiming to represent protestors or the zone.

techcrunch.com/wp-content/uplo…
This post, though seen by many, was heeded by few.

The ownership of one particular account was hotly contested, and confused by such tantalizing hints as it following Huawei leadership (you can imagine the theories this spawned), and for an “official” statement ending with what appeared to be a few stray pixels from a Biden presidential campaign graphic.

Later, when attempting to provoke a “mission accomplished”-style early exit from the zone after the Mayor cut million from the police budget, the account exhorted its readers to vote for Biden. Needless to say this was not among the commonly agreed-upon demands or positions of the protests. Unless whoever was behind this strange yet prominent account exposes themselves, we may never know if it was a government plant, an agent provocateur or a practical joker, or what their intentions really are.

The enduring, chaotogenic myth that the CHAZ was an attempt to secede and form a socialist, anarchist utopia led to rebranding efforts. The misconception had become so widespread that it was decided to “officially” (as far as that concept existed in the space) change the name to the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest — then, noting the fact that Seattle itself is an “occupation” of native land, change the O to Organized.

This led to a further fragmentation of information channels: No one on the ground wanted to use #CHAZ and its relatives because it was no longer what organizers wanted to call it. But the name had entered the common parlance. So posts now needed to be #CHAZ, #CHOP, #CHOPCHAZ, and others like #CHAZSeattle and so on. It became very difficult to track an event — be it positive, like a march or speaker, or negative, like a fight or shooting — never knowing where to look or how to parse the information there.

It’s hard to overstate how effective the fractured narrative and opposing efforts were at shaping the national and global understanding of events surrounding these protests.

As they say you can never step into the same river twice, so it was on social media around the protest and the zone. The ever-shifting flow of Twitter sometimes produced absolutely vital data unavailable anywhere else, but always polluted with incomplete or premature judgments, ignorance, racism and false reports.

When I asked what digital tools were needed to better organize and avoid interference, protestors I spoke with generally said some sort of centralization and interoperability. Being able to colocate multiple feeds, authors, videos, images and static links in a dynamic, accessible way would save them huge amounts of time and effort. Certainly it would have helped to alleviate some of the problems noted above.
Stream of conscience

“Live streaming and having our phones out every single day is our best form of self defense.”
Despite the shortcomings of social media at large, one digital medium that has proven itself truly indispensable to this protest and others to come is live streaming.
Although the technology has risen to mainstream popularity as a new form of passive entertainment on Twitch and other live platforms, it quickly became clear that it was the technology of choice for documenting these and other protests and social movements.

As TK put it: “People are visual learners; until they see it for themselves they don’t really believe it. And when it’s live, it’s live. You’re not seeing the cut, clipped and edited version. You can’t dispute what you see in raw live footage. You can’t ignore it.”

In Seattle, two people have become familiar faces, or voices, as they have doggedly documented every step of the protests this way, from before the CHOP to well after: Omari Salisbury and Joey Wieser.

techcrunch.com/wp-content/uplo…
Image Credits: Jake Gravbot

Salisbury runs Converge Media, an independent web-distributed news organization. He comes from a broadcast and networking background, and when the CHOP emerged literally outside his doorstep — the studio door opened onto the police line before officers left — he took the opportunity to share the story, as objectively as possible. To him, the only tool that fit the bill was live streaming.

“The viewer needs to be able to see the context, because if the viewer can’t see the context, then it becomes something else,” he said. “People appreciate us because the stream is long, we keep the camera there and we let people make their own decisions.”

He was there not just for the controversial or terrifying moments, like clashes between provocateurs and protestors, or the shootings that occurred later on, but for the huge number of peaceful hours when people would share their own experiences at Salisbury’s prompting. The result is an incredibly valuable archive of hundreds of hours of live footage, ground truth from inside the zone that has been watched by millions.

Joey Wieser has no media background, but rather just a passing familiarity with the systems and social media methods that can grab people’s attention. Yet his stream came to be relied on by many, and the events he captured also racked up millions of views, simply because he decided to take advantage of the tools at his disposal.
“It's not that we don't have umbrellas. We just never met a storm worthy of one.

Until this week.” -Seattle pic.twitter.com/STGnwIc3sZ

— Joey Wieser (@itsjosephryan) June 8, 2020

“Live streaming and having our phones out every single day is our best form of self defense. Every day that I walk out my doorstep, I hold my phone as if it is my ultimate shield, my ultimate weapon,” he said. “Without it, I feel like I don’t have a role in this movement. It’s not like I’m some prolific live streamer, or that I know what Black communities need best. I’m just some white guy and I happen to work in tech. Having an understanding of what social media best practices look like, understanding analytics and social amplification — that combined with my community activism allowed me to come out here and do this.”

For Wieser, having the right connections or network was less important than being in the right place at the right time, even if it put him in danger. (He and Omari were both tear gassed multiple times and near shootings and other altercations.)

“I think it really puts the viewer at home in the driver’s seat,” he said. “Because they’re able to not only watch an uninterrupted stream, but to engage and have a real live conversation with somebody that’s there on the ground. You know, they can say, hey, turn to the left. What was that? It’s a participatory experience in a way watching the news doesn’t allow.”

One such incident I saw play out almost defies belief. Wieser was streaming the protest when a truck blasted through, nearly hitting several people. Minutes later, a person watching the stream was surprised when that very truck pulled up outside their apartment — it was their DoorDash driver, who announced proudly that they had just run down some protestors. (The driver’s plates and info were quickly sent through the proper channels.)
THE PLOT THICKENS: The man in this truck is a driver for @DoorDash and was making a delivery. The customer was literally watching the livestream as the silver truck pulled up outside their home. pic.twitter.com/di1eI9bQjE

— Joey Wieser (@itsjosephryan) July 1, 2020

Being a two-way medium, it provides new opportunities for interference as well as engagement. Both Salisbury and Wieser experienced repeated attempts to pollute their comment sections or attack them personally.

“It’s not lost on me that this amplification can be used against us, but I think one of the important things about live streaming is that you can inject your own narrative, rather than let it be to the whim of, you know, Fox News or Sinclair,” said Wieser. “Regardless of whether or not the trolls take it over in the comment sections or in the hashtags, if you’re actually listening to the content, and if you’ve got someone out here who has the right heart and the right passion and the right analysis, you can reclaim that narrative.”
“The citizen journalist has always existed. They just never had the tools to be on equal footing with national news.”
Salisbury, for his part, expressed that it is not always sufficient to simply document — one has to report, and that’s what he does.
“People rock with me because just turning on the camera and streaming, it’s not enough. Knowing the history of Seattle, the history of the neighborhood, understanding political positions… and you got to put paint where it ain’t, you know what I’m saying? The citizen journalist has always existed. They just never had the tools to be on equal footing with national news,” he said.

“People underestimate the tech that’s out there, especially the free stuff,” he continued. “I know people have their views about platforms and privacy. And I think that’s a different discussion. But I will say that what’s going on here allows for citizen journalists to touch the world. I used to build OTT and streaming platforms in Europe and across Africa. So understanding the actual technology that goes into this, man, I really don’t take no stream for granted. I’ve got people in Australia who’ve been on since day one. What if I had to cultivate that through my own contacts, do my own server, do my own everything? How would I reach them? It doesn’t work that way.”

He credits live streaming with putting pressure on local and national outlets to up their game, as well — being showed up by one person with a phone doesn’t look good for a major news organization.

“Citizen journalists and streamers came out here and forced the local media to change their whole game,” he said. “I mean, a guy with a cell phone didn’t get no respect back in the day. But I had my interviews with the mayor before anybody, my interviews with Chief Best before anybody. You see what I’m saying? I’m just a guy with a phone. Now the Seattle Times has a streamer out here. This situation has made the media adapt new technology.”

While live broadcasts have been part of local and national news for decades, it was in truth a totally different medium. But it’s now difficult to imagine coverage of events like these without modern live streaming, and legacy media have begun to recognize that. Technology has always been a double-edged sword. The events in Seattle and across the country have illustrated this powerfully, and it seems unarguable that whatever happens in terms of policy and politics, the nature of protesting and the power dynamic that has defined it for decades has begun to change.

Ultimately, though, the power does not belong to the tech, but to the people.

“Technology plays a big part in all this, but I’m gonna be real with you, what you need is more old fashioned beating your feet to the streets,” concluded TK. “It’s not that the technology is insufficient, but that people are choosing not to use technology to understand.

“We’ve proven it time and time again that the only ones that really got our back is us.”

feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Techc… feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Techc… feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Techc… feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Techc… feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Techc… feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Techc…
techcrunch.com/2020/07/18/for-…

#seattle #chaz #seattleprotest #seattleprotests #seattleprotestcomms #seatleprotest
abolitionmedia @[email protected] · 2026-05-12 · 04:41 UTC

A Tractor in Common and the Case of the Crazy Parrot

I. The Geneaology of the Tamale.
To the Searching Mothers, with admiration and respect.
I should tell you that I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. This combination of knowledge and practices rooted in traditions from many decades ago, with applied science and technology. Yes, in the countryside. Yes, in the struggle for life.
Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés has explained the process to me:
First, you choose the land. The flatter, the better. Next comes what is called “tumbar y rozar”—that is, using a machete and, sometimes, an axe, you cut down large, medium, and small trees. If it is already land that was once a cornfield, then it is acahual (small trees and plants). If it was pastureland, then there are no trees. You have to wait for it to dry out well, and then comes the “quema,” which consists, as the name implies, of setting the land on fire so that the soil is fertilized with the ash. Next comes clearing, that is, removing stones, logs, branches, and roots. Then comes planting, which is done with a coa (a straight stick, sometimes with an iron tip). The person planting carries the seeds in a small backpack, moving forward little by little, poking the ground with the coa and placing the seed in the soil. Then it’s a matter of waiting for rain. Of course, if the dry season (the hot season), with its strong winds, hasn’t carried the fire beyond the “firebreak,” then we have to organize collectively to go put it out before the fire spreads and reaches the forest… or the villages.
If it rains, that’s good. If it doesn’t rain, that’s bad. And then you have to set off firecrackers in the sky to wake up the clouds and make them pour down onto the earth, where the seed awaits the life that every drop of water carries.
Then after? Wait, and keep an eye on the weather. If all goes well, in about three months there will be corn on the cob, and then dried corn. Then comes the harvest: gathering the ears and piling them in a small shed they call a “troje.” From there, whenever needed, a few ears are brought home, and the whole family (grandparents, parents, and the kids) sits down to shell them. Next comes cooking the corn, with some lime extracted from stones. The lime comes from a special white stone. In some places they call it Poj’ton. It’s heated with firewood and then ground until it becomes a fine powder. If you can’t find it, you can make it from the shell of a river snail. And if you don’t have Poj’ton or a snail, well tough luck, you just have to earn the money to buy the lime.
A compañera explains to me: “Not just anyone can mix the lime with the corn. You need, as they say, the moms. Your mom tells you how much lime to put in the pot with the corn in water. If it’s not just right, it won’t work. And if you add too much, it stings. So you have to calculate it, just as your mom teaches you. Once you grow up, well, you know how to calculate. But it’s not like you measure with centiliters, milliliters, and all that math stuff. It’s that you measure just as your mom teaches you. And you have to mix it well by hand, so there are no little lumps, but just right.
If you don’t learn to do things right, word gets around town fast and people look down on you. And it’s even worse for the mother—people talk behind her back, saying she doesn’t teach her children about corn, that is, about life. So the children have to learn well. As they say, moms need their kids. I think that’s why they scold us so much when we’re little, so we’ll learn. And that’s why moms are always thinking about their kids, and if they’re not around, they look for them. If we didn’t have moms, I think we’d all die on the spot.
-*-
Next, once the corn is cooked, keep grinding it by hand using an old mechanical grinder. If you don’t have one, use a metate and a grinding stone. Then you’ll have the dough ready for tortillas… or tamales. If it’s a celebration, then maybe with cuche (pork), chicken, or turkey. And the recado, of course, which is like the seasoning you put on the meat. If there’s no meat, then beans… or vegetables (yucky). You can also make it with green or red chili peppers, and with sugar. After all that, and if you’re lucky enough that the cook doesn’t leave the tamale undercooked, then you’ll be able to eat tamales. And if it’s undercooked, well, too bad—you still have to eat it because that’s all there is. Of course, you’d better make sure there’s a outhouse nearby.
If it’s a party, there’s dancing. Yes, cumbias. Although later there’s also rock, ska, banda, and that kind of music that makes the young men and women jump around as if they were on top of an anthill. But love—and, of course, heartbreak—tend to blossom and bear fruit with the cumbias. There, the hips promise fevers… and sleepless nights… and rains… and hardships.
-*-
And then? Well, back to where we started. And so on and on, forever and ever. Humanity exists because the earth exists. In other words, you might say that the earth is the mother of humanity. Just imagine if there were no earth—where would you get all the junk food you eat? Without the earth, there is no food, no animals, no air, no rain. There is nothing. That is why we say that land is life.
The peoples and communities of the National Indigenous Congress taught us to say “territory.” In other words, it’s not just the earth itself, but also the water, the forests, the wild animals, the rain, the wind, the sun. Everything. When we say “land,” we mean all of that; but in the cities, they understand land as a piece of land and not as a whole. That’s why the CNI taught us to say “territory.”
-*-
Today’s wars, by the way, are fought to conquer territory. That is why it doesn’t matter how many people are killed or how many buildings, hospitals, schools (with girls inside), and entire neighborhoods are destroyed. Because that is what capitalist war is all about: destroying in order to rebuild later; and depopulating in order to later reorganize the conquered territory. And that is why there are, within humanity, what are called “Guardians” of the earth, that is, of the territory. In other words, they are the offspring of Mother Earth, the Resistance, and Rebellion. And that is why they murder, disappear, and imprison the defenders of the forests. And that is why the problem is not Netanyahu or Trump. Or at least, not only them.
Because with or without them, the Boss Man—the capitalist system, that is—wants to murder people and destroy entire populations. Because it is in those populations and in the hearts of those people, that life lives.
That is how the system was born: by killing and destroying. That is how it grew. And that is how it sustains itself, even as its methods and justifications change. The capitalist system is death. Not just for humanity. But for the entire planet as well. That is why we say that the struggle against capitalism is the struggle for life. And vice versa.
Who understands this best and most deeply? Well, those who live in a territory—that is, on the land. But they do not fight for ownership of the territory; rather, they fight to defend it. And that is why capitalism attacks them, because they stand in the way of its plan.
-*-
I asked SubMoy, “So there’s no more burning?”
“No, we’re showing them—teaching our compañeros and the partisan brothers—that by using this technique, burning is no longer necessary, so the fire doesn’t spread and endanger animals, trees, and people. Plus, there’s no more smoke. And you don’t have to wait for rain or waste fireworks. So, without stopping work on the land, you can take care of it and improve it.”
“And where did the tractor come from?”
“Ah, they’d had it sitting in a shed for years, but they weren’t using it and it was just sitting there falling apart. Then the Commons came to the rescue. The drivers went, fixed it up, washed it, made it look sharp, and moved it to this land that belongs to the Common—which belongs to everyone and to no one.”
“But maybe the day after, there won’t be any fuel for the tractor… or even a tractor.”
“Oh, sure. But we’re learning from our great-great-grandparents and grandparents, who made do with what they had and used their wits. The point is always to take care of Mother Earth.”
A compañero is someone who teaches and has students, mainly Tzotzil and Cho’ol. That compañero is from Puy de Roberto Barrios, and he comes with his group to put what they learn into practice. Because if you don’t apply what you know, it’s all for nothing. In other words, he wants practice. The place where he teaches could well be called “Center for Zapatista Rebel Research, Analysis, and Teaching on Rural Work and the Defense and Care of Mother Earth, Combining the Knowledge of Our Ancestors with Knowledge of the Sciences, Techniques, Arts, and Whatever Comes to Mind and We Invent Based on What We See in Practice” (CIAERZTCDCMTCCNACCTALVAOISVP, for its Spanish acronym).
Nah, it’s not really called that. But they’re going to give it some name. Maybe just as long or even longer—I don’t know.
The thing is, just like with cumbias, what really counts is putting that knowledge into practice. Because you could certainly write books on cumbia theory, explaining hip rotation and the rhythm of the feet and hands using ellipses and parables, differential equations, and asymptotes. But, man, if you don’t practice it, it’ll look like your pants are made of cardboard or that you’ve got a cramp.
-*-
When I saw that the sprinklers were already running and they were planting, I thought, “Now I can die in peace.” I think I said it out loud, because Verónica, who was butting in as usual, said, “Again?!” And, looking at me disapprovingly, she added, “People are getting sick of you dying all the time. Even the women in the villages have already complained to SubMoy that they’re praying for nothing every time they go by.”
“So they’re praying for me?”
“No way! They’re praying for the poor devil who’s going to suffer when you get to hell and start up your mischief.”
Well, but that’s not the point…
-*-
All over the world, stories of resistance and defiance are blossoming. Yesterday, they were called Venezuela. Today, they are called Iran and Cuba. They are always called Palestine. Because there will always be those who refuse to give up, sell out, or back down.
(To be continued…)
The Captain
April-May 2026
souce: Schools for Chiapas
https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/?p=32561 #chiapas #ezln #mexico #northAmerica #zapatista

#chiapas #ezln #mexico #northamerica #zapatista
abolitionmedia @[email protected] · 2026-05-12 · 04:41 UTC

A Tractor in Common and the Case of the Crazy Parrot

I. The Geneaology of the Tamale.
To the Searching Mothers, with admiration and respect.
I should tell you that I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. This combination of knowledge and practices rooted in traditions from many decades ago, with applied science and technology. Yes, in the countryside. Yes, in the struggle for life.
Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés has explained the process to me:
First, you choose the land. The flatter, the better. Next comes what is called “tumbar y rozar”—that is, using a machete and, sometimes, an axe, you cut down large, medium, and small trees. If it is already land that was once a cornfield, then it is acahual (small trees and plants). If it was pastureland, then there are no trees. You have to wait for it to dry out well, and then comes the “quema,” which consists, as the name implies, of setting the land on fire so that the soil is fertilized with the ash. Next comes clearing, that is, removing stones, logs, branches, and roots. Then comes planting, which is done with a coa (a straight stick, sometimes with an iron tip). The person planting carries the seeds in a small backpack, moving forward little by little, poking the ground with the coa and placing the seed in the soil. Then it’s a matter of waiting for rain. Of course, if the dry season (the hot season), with its strong winds, hasn’t carried the fire beyond the “firebreak,” then we have to organize collectively to go put it out before the fire spreads and reaches the forest… or the villages.
If it rains, that’s good. If it doesn’t rain, that’s bad. And then you have to set off firecrackers in the sky to wake up the clouds and make them pour down onto the earth, where the seed awaits the life that every drop of water carries.
Then after? Wait, and keep an eye on the weather. If all goes well, in about three months there will be corn on the cob, and then dried corn. Then comes the harvest: gathering the ears and piling them in a small shed they call a “troje.” From there, whenever needed, a few ears are brought home, and the whole family (grandparents, parents, and the kids) sits down to shell them. Next comes cooking the corn, with some lime extracted from stones. The lime comes from a special white stone. In some places they call it Poj’ton. It’s heated with firewood and then ground until it becomes a fine powder. If you can’t find it, you can make it from the shell of a river snail. And if you don’t have Poj’ton or a snail, well tough luck, you just have to earn the money to buy the lime.
A compañera explains to me: “Not just anyone can mix the lime with the corn. You need, as they say, the moms. Your mom tells you how much lime to put in the pot with the corn in water. If it’s not just right, it won’t work. And if you add too much, it stings. So you have to calculate it, just as your mom teaches you. Once you grow up, well, you know how to calculate. But it’s not like you measure with centiliters, milliliters, and all that math stuff. It’s that you measure just as your mom teaches you. And you have to mix it well by hand, so there are no little lumps, but just right.
If you don’t learn to do things right, word gets around town fast and people look down on you. And it’s even worse for the mother—people talk behind her back, saying she doesn’t teach her children about corn, that is, about life. So the children have to learn well. As they say, moms need their kids. I think that’s why they scold us so much when we’re little, so we’ll learn. And that’s why moms are always thinking about their kids, and if they’re not around, they look for them. If we didn’t have moms, I think we’d all die on the spot.
-*-
Next, once the corn is cooked, keep grinding it by hand using an old mechanical grinder. If you don’t have one, use a metate and a grinding stone. Then you’ll have the dough ready for tortillas… or tamales. If it’s a celebration, then maybe with cuche (pork), chicken, or turkey. And the recado, of course, which is like the seasoning you put on the meat. If there’s no meat, then beans… or vegetables (yucky). You can also make it with green or red chili peppers, and with sugar. After all that, and if you’re lucky enough that the cook doesn’t leave the tamale undercooked, then you’ll be able to eat tamales. And if it’s undercooked, well, too bad—you still have to eat it because that’s all there is. Of course, you’d better make sure there’s a outhouse nearby.
If it’s a party, there’s dancing. Yes, cumbias. Although later there’s also rock, ska, banda, and that kind of music that makes the young men and women jump around as if they were on top of an anthill. But love—and, of course, heartbreak—tend to blossom and bear fruit with the cumbias. There, the hips promise fevers… and sleepless nights… and rains… and hardships.
-*-
And then? Well, back to where we started. And so on and on, forever and ever. Humanity exists because the earth exists. In other words, you might say that the earth is the mother of humanity. Just imagine if there were no earth—where would you get all the junk food you eat? Without the earth, there is no food, no animals, no air, no rain. There is nothing. That is why we say that land is life.
The peoples and communities of the National Indigenous Congress taught us to say “territory.” In other words, it’s not just the earth itself, but also the water, the forests, the wild animals, the rain, the wind, the sun. Everything. When we say “land,” we mean all of that; but in the cities, they understand land as a piece of land and not as a whole. That’s why the CNI taught us to say “territory.”
-*-
Today’s wars, by the way, are fought to conquer territory. That is why it doesn’t matter how many people are killed or how many buildings, hospitals, schools (with girls inside), and entire neighborhoods are destroyed. Because that is what capitalist war is all about: destroying in order to rebuild later; and depopulating in order to later reorganize the conquered territory. And that is why there are, within humanity, what are called “Guardians” of the earth, that is, of the territory. In other words, they are the offspring of Mother Earth, the Resistance, and Rebellion. And that is why they murder, disappear, and imprison the defenders of the forests. And that is why the problem is not Netanyahu or Trump. Or at least, not only them.
Because with or without them, the Boss Man—the capitalist system, that is—wants to murder people and destroy entire populations. Because it is in those populations and in the hearts of those people, that life lives.
That is how the system was born: by killing and destroying. That is how it grew. And that is how it sustains itself, even as its methods and justifications change. The capitalist system is death. Not just for humanity. But for the entire planet as well. That is why we say that the struggle against capitalism is the struggle for life. And vice versa.
Who understands this best and most deeply? Well, those who live in a territory—that is, on the land. But they do not fight for ownership of the territory; rather, they fight to defend it. And that is why capitalism attacks them, because they stand in the way of its plan.
-*-
I asked SubMoy, “So there’s no more burning?”
“No, we’re showing them—teaching our compañeros and the partisan brothers—that by using this technique, burning is no longer necessary, so the fire doesn’t spread and endanger animals, trees, and people. Plus, there’s no more smoke. And you don’t have to wait for rain or waste fireworks. So, without stopping work on the land, you can take care of it and improve it.”
“And where did the tractor come from?”
“Ah, they’d had it sitting in a shed for years, but they weren’t using it and it was just sitting there falling apart. Then the Commons came to the rescue. The drivers went, fixed it up, washed it, made it look sharp, and moved it to this land that belongs to the Common—which belongs to everyone and to no one.”
“But maybe the day after, there won’t be any fuel for the tractor… or even a tractor.”
“Oh, sure. But we’re learning from our great-great-grandparents and grandparents, who made do with what they had and used their wits. The point is always to take care of Mother Earth.”
A compañero is someone who teaches and has students, mainly Tzotzil and Cho’ol. That compañero is from Puy de Roberto Barrios, and he comes with his group to put what they learn into practice. Because if you don’t apply what you know, it’s all for nothing. In other words, he wants practice. The place where he teaches could well be called “Center for Zapatista Rebel Research, Analysis, and Teaching on Rural Work and the Defense and Care of Mother Earth, Combining the Knowledge of Our Ancestors with Knowledge of the Sciences, Techniques, Arts, and Whatever Comes to Mind and We Invent Based on What We See in Practice” (CIAERZTCDCMTCCNACCTALVAOISVP, for its Spanish acronym).
Nah, it’s not really called that. But they’re going to give it some name. Maybe just as long or even longer—I don’t know.
The thing is, just like with cumbias, what really counts is putting that knowledge into practice. Because you could certainly write books on cumbia theory, explaining hip rotation and the rhythm of the feet and hands using ellipses and parables, differential equations, and asymptotes. But, man, if you don’t practice it, it’ll look like your pants are made of cardboard or that you’ve got a cramp.
-*-
When I saw that the sprinklers were already running and they were planting, I thought, “Now I can die in peace.” I think I said it out loud, because Verónica, who was butting in as usual, said, “Again?!” And, looking at me disapprovingly, she added, “People are getting sick of you dying all the time. Even the women in the villages have already complained to SubMoy that they’re praying for nothing every time they go by.”
“So they’re praying for me?”
“No way! They’re praying for the poor devil who’s going to suffer when you get to hell and start up your mischief.”
Well, but that’s not the point…
-*-
All over the world, stories of resistance and defiance are blossoming. Yesterday, they were called Venezuela. Today, they are called Iran and Cuba. They are always called Palestine. Because there will always be those who refuse to give up, sell out, or back down.
(To be continued…)
The Captain
April-May 2026
souce: Schools for Chiapas
https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/?p=32561 #chiapas #ezln #mexico #northAmerica #zapatista

#chiapas #ezln #mexico #northamerica #zapatista
Cider ☕️ | He/Them @[email protected] · 2026-02-23 · 20:49 UTC

CW: RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) Alternatives, Free Resources, uspol (US Politics) mentioned

Hey, finding out about this a little later than I would have liked, but if you have any resources linking to the organization RAINN, I would recommend you remove them and find safer alternatives. I'll provide some alternatives in this post, so we can continue to try and keep each other safe, though please hear me out on this situation until then.
In 2025 they removed any mentions of trans survivors and are no longer providing specialized life saving resources to the minorities who may happen to call. This resource is no longer safe for minorities to access, and I argue that it's not safe for anyone to access if they're silencing survivors, period.
It's claimed that "RAINN’s mission is to stop sexual violence by supporting survivors, holding perpetrators accountable, and creating safer communities." However, by submitting to a notorious perpetrator, Donald John Trump, they're making a mockery of the work they set out to do. This is not only shameful, but dangerous.
Cuts to funding is nothing new and I'm grateful that programs like *The Trevor Project are doing emergency fundraising to fight to keep their doors open instead of submitting to threats by facism. Standing by The People is more important than ever.
Please consider donating if it's financially safe for you to do so: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/emergencycampaign/
Here's a couple of articles on the matter that I could find that aren't digustingly pay-walled. (Thanks for nothing NYT.) But yeah, please take from them what you will, do your own research as well, and make a more informed decision going forward.
https://newrepublic.com/post/195327/top-sexual-assault-hotline-rainn-caves-trump https://instinctmagazine.com/the-hotline-went-cold-rainn-pulls-support-for-lgbtq-survivors/
Here's some resources that could be better alternatives to RAINN. You may need to list more than one in its place for it to be a more complete replacement, so please keep this in mind. Please read up on them, so you can be well informed on the resources you're sharing.
https://translifeline.org/
https://translifeline.org/resources/
https://www.incestaware.org/
https://www.callblackline.com/
https://strongheartshelpline.org/get-help
https://thrivelifeline.org/
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
Thank you for listening and please continue to keep each other safe. ✊🏼
#Resources #FreeResources #KeepEachOTherSafe #Survivor #CSAsurvivor #MentalHealthResources #DomesticViolence #DomesticViolenceAwareness #Incest #IncestSurvivor #LGBT #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA2S #USpol

#resources #freeresources #keepeachothersafe #survivor #csasurvivor #mentalhealthresources