 A group of activists took credit for placing a false press release claiming General Electric has decided to donate $ 3200000000 alleged back taxes for the U.S. Treasury. The Associated Press news agency was one of the media fooled by the trick developed by a group called U.S. not cut with the help of another known as the Yes Men. The mockery of GE's recent criticism over reports he paid no U.S. income taking last year raking despite billions of dollars in net profits. "The U.S. has some terrible law that allows companies to not pay taxes, while U.S. citizens receive all services stripped away," said Mike Bonanno, a member of the Yes Men, a email to AFP. "It's a crime, and we must change the laws in this country that does not happen again," said Bonanno, whose Yes Men also behind a false alarm in recent years involving Chevron, who deceived a number of outlets press. phony press release on Wednesday, was sent in an email that reproduces the logo of GE and GE slogan "Imagination at work" and also included a link to a website that seemed real to GE Corporate Communication Site . The press release stated that GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, in response to "popular clamor, had decided to donate tax refunds to the government 3.2 billion U.S. dollars to" help to offset the cuts and save American jobs. " A true spokesman for GE, Ann Eisele, found the press release as a "hoax", but not before it was picked up by a number of reputable news organizations. "We did not receive a refund," said Eisele. The AP wrote a brief history on the basis of the press release before taking him off half an hour later. AP Business Editor Hal Ritter said in an AP story that the news agency did not follow its own rules in this case to verify the authenticity of a press release. " |
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