It seems that Exxon is freaked out by the Biden administration ’s promises tocrack down on carbon contamination . All twelvemonth , it has been run advertizement on Facebook encouraging people to oppose climate policy . And , according to a raw report , Exxon has worked with one of the world ’s biggest PR firms in arcanum on the labor .
Exxon buys more Facebook advert than any other fogey fuel company . Areportout this hebdomad found that in 2021 , Exxon has systematically been a top Sir Stephen Harold Spender on mood issues across the social platform . The company ’s advertising are n’t merely focused on advance its profile , though . As the Biden disposal has taken steps curb oil and gas pedal origin from public lands , disapprove the Keystone XL word of mouth , and otherwise enact clime policy , the fossil oil John Major has operate advertizement to further viewer to stand against these measures .
“ It uses these ads to mobilize people for Exxon ’s policy goal , ” Duncan Meisel , co - laminitis of the Clean Creatives movement to pressure PR firm to stop solve with oil company and co - source of the report , said .
Photo: Eric Piermont/AFP (Getty Images)
“ What that says is that this is really an explicitly political task , ” said Meisel .
Those who tap the advertizement on Facebook are send to the Exxchange political platform and asked to sign petitions . For instance , asBiden jerk Keystone XL pipeline permitsand made pledge to cut atomic number 6 emissions , Exxon run anad campaigncalling on Americans to “ defend zip jobs . ”
And this month , as Democrats have been creating a budget bill full of clime policies that would increase taxis on corporations , Exxon start running Exxchange ads that call on users to oppose corporal taxation hikes even as itaggressively lobby lawmakersto urine down the legislation . ( Exxon , other oil company , andclimate deniersgetting the green light for these types of advert stand in perfect contrast to howactivistsandeducatorshave been do by by the chopine . ) Separate inquiry released last calendar month byInfluenceMapshows that 25 oil companies pay for ads that were see 431 million times on Facebook in 2020 , with Exxon spending the most over that point .
Screenshot: Exxon via Facebook ad library (Other)
antecedently , the Texas - based PR firm Harris Media , run by Republican consultant Vincent Harris and known for operate with far - correct political campaigns , took creditfor creating Exxchange . But the Clean Creatives reported that ’s not the whole floor . Acoding erroruncovered by the group designate that Edelman , the populace ’s enceinte independent PR company , appears to have also played a part in get by Exxchange.com .
“ A link on the preserved site includes a Microsoft SafeLinks URL containing the electronic mail name and address with an edelman.com domain . This SafeLinks URL could have only been generated by an Edelman employee and appear to have been erroneously embedded in the situation . It demonstrates that Edelman has had direct control over the land site and its message , at least up until May of 2021 , ” the report says .
Earther has reached out to the firm with questions about its involvement with Exxchange and will update this post if we try back . Edelman has previously play with pollute entities like pipeline developerTransCanada , theAmerican Petroleum Institute , andShell . In fact , Clean Creatives found that they have more fogy fuel contract than any other major ad means .
Image: InfluenceMap
But that ’s far from the image the PR giant has tried to cultivate for itself . Just this hebdomad , Edelman has been going heavily pushing a very different movement — acollaboration between Tazo Tea and American Forestsfocused on hiring residents of blue - income community of color to plant Tree in their neighbourhood , helping to promote tree fairness . The crusade evenboasts singer SZA as an ambassador .
Why would Edelman want to outstrip itself from the Exxchange campaign and solve with other polluters ? Well , the report shines some light on that too : Edelmanrecently put out a reportfinding that 60 % of employees would leave a company that is doing ‘ essentially base ’ work , andpolls showthat untested workers progressively view fossil fuel companies as immoral due to their massive contribution to the clime crisis . Perhaps the praseodymium firm thinks hiding its study with Exxon will carry on its image in the public center — and its power to contain onto skilled staff .
“ Edelman ’s calling poster is that they say they ’re in the business of creating trust , ” read Meisel . “ But what ’s really striking about this work for Exxon and sour for the American Petroleum Institute or other polluters is that it ’s really designed to undermine trust in clime scientific discipline and climate solutions , so it ’s a real glaring fight with … what they say their charge is .
“ It ’s exculpated this is n’t the piece of work they ’re most proud of . Their work with dodo fuel companies is … in direct fight with their state values . ”
Update , 9/23/21 , 5:00 p.m. ET : While Earther still has yet to obtain a response from Edelman more than 24 hours after reaching out , the stiff didissue a statementto trade site PR Weekly . “ Edelman is refuting a report charge the agency of working with ExxonMobil to undermine anti - climate variety regulating work , ” it said .
But the statement does n’t in reality , uh , refute anything . It confirms it has been crop with Exxon since 2020 , but not to fight mood insurance policy . “ We do not utter about any opposition to mood legislating and our workplace is to do with job conception , economical opportunity and land admission , ” the firm said .
Jamie Henn , co - founder of sporting Creatives and co - author of the report , likened Edelman ’s response to “ having Darth Vader as a client but pretending you are n’t on the sorry side . ”
“ Trying to birl ExxonMobil ’s advertising as anything other than buttonhole against climate action is a stretching even for the most misanthropic PR executive , ” he said .
Anyone at Edelman is still welcome to answer Earther ’s questions or send us a tip on what other fossil fuel companies the firm works with at[email protected ] .
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