named programs · 3 · from sources
What they call their work
Identity Correction Campaigns
Designs and executes satirical media interventions that impersonate corporations or government entities to expose unethical practices, such as fake press releases, spoof websites, and staged announcements.
Partnership Projects
Collaborates with activist organizations on targeted campaigns, such as exposing fossil fuel investments or labor abuses, amplifying impact through coordinated media strategies.
Workshops and Trainings
Offers hands-on training sessions for activists and students on media strategy, campaign design, and tactical performance to empower grassroots organizing.
activities · 7 groups
What they do
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Community Capacity Building & Leadership Networks 1 activity
- Collaborating with NGOs and activist groups to co-develop and implement campaignsPartners with organizations such as Greenpeace and housing justice groups to co-develop and execute activist projects, often taking primary responsibility for implementation while centering community voices and issues.
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Climate Change Public Awareness & Advocacy 1 activity
- Conducting campaigns to shift corporate behavior on environmental and social issuesLeads targeted advocacy campaigns to pressure corporations—such as Stop & Shop and TotalEnergies—to change practices linked to deforestation, greenwashing, and fossil fuel expansion, often in collaboration with other activist groups.
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Political Leadership Training for Underrepresented Groups 1 activity
- Delivering activist trainings and workshops for students and organizationsProvides intensive, semester-long, and short-term trainings at universities and with activist groups—including at CUNY, NYU, CalArts, and in Belfast—on creative tactics, campaign strategy, and media engagement to build grassroots capacity.
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Free and Open-Source Software Advocacy & Development 1 activity
- Developing and sharing open-source activist tools and frameworksCreates and freely distributes activist methodologies, such as the Meddleverse framework, along with tools, stories, and campaign examples to enable independent use by other activists and organizations.
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Documentary Film Production 1 activity
- Producing and distributing documentary films to advance activist messagingProduces and releases documentary films that chronicle and amplify activist actions, including "The Yes Men" (2004), "The Yes Men Fix The World" (2009), and "The Yes Men Are Revolting" (2015), to educate the public and inspire engagement.
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Public Awareness and Educational Outreach 1 activity
- Providing public education on corporate and governmental accountabilityOffers university talks and public education initiatives to inform and inspire youth and broader audiences about methods for uncovering and publicizing truths about powerful institutions.
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Uncategorized 4 activities
- Conducting activist research and experimental campaignsRuns experimental activist projects over multi-year periods, building on two decades of experience to test and refine tactics for social change.
- Creating public illusions and spectacles to generate media attention on social issuesStages large-scale public illusions—both physical and digital—to provoke public questioning, shift narratives, and attract media coverage around pressing political and environmental issues, using humor and trickery as core tactics.
- Executing rapid-response and event disruption actions to challenge institutional powerDisrupts high-profile political and corporate events to reveal systemic vulnerabilities and challenge public complacency, including infiltration of conferences and real-time interventions in response to emerging issues.
- Staging satirical impersonation actions to expose corporate and governmental misconductConducts undercover and impersonation actions targeting powerful entities—such as corporations and government bodies—through fake announcements, satirical press conferences, and brand disruptions to expose greenwashing, labor abuses, and environmental harm. Examples include posing as Husky Energy, TotalEnergies, and major brands like adidas and Starbucks to critique their practices.
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financials · form 990 · fy2023
revenue
Total revenue$230K
Contributions & grants$112K49%
Program service revenue$109K47%
Investment income$40%
Other revenue$9K
expenses
Total expenses$260K
Program expenses89%
Admin / overhead11%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$0
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineProfessional Fees
balance sheet
Total assets$119K
Cash$117K
Investments$0
Liabilities$166K
Net assets$-48K
Liquid reserves5.4 mo
5 years on record · 2019–2023 · YoY revenue -19.3%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2023
Who runs it
board members · 3
- IGOR VAMOS — TREASURER
- JACQUES SERVIN — PRESIDENT
- JOSEPH HUFF-HANNON — SECRETARY
relationships · 18
Who they work with
- ACT-UP Partner — Draws inspiration and methodological alignment from ACT-UP's Gran Fury collective.
- CalArts Partner — Hosted a semester-long training session.
- Evil Twin Booking Partner — Handles booking inquiries for speaking engagements.
- Greenpeace Partner — Collaborated on a notable project involving brand disruption and public awareness.
- Greenpeace Partner — Collaborated with Greenpeace on a major activist project in 2004
- Hemispheric Institute Partner — Hosted a semester-long training session.
- JFREJ Partner — Collaborated with JFREJ on actions targeting ICE.
- New York University Partner — Hosted a semester-long training session.
- Queens College (CUNY) Partner — Hosted and partly funded a semester-long training session in spring 2021.
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Partner — Hosted a semester-long training session.
- The New School Partner — Hosted a semester-long training session.
- The Yes Men Network — THE YES LAB INC evolved from or is closely affiliated with The Yes Men, building on their two decades of activist work.
- The Yes Men Partner — Collaborates with The Yes Men to provide trainings on activist strategies and public engagement.
- University of Arizona Partner — Invited Andy Bichlbaum to deliver the Arts Division graduation speech.
- Waging Nonviolence Partner — Co-published content on progressive strategies for social change.
- Yes Men Partner — Collaborative activist group whose projects have informed and been aligned with The Yes Lab's approaches.
- activist organization Partner — Collaborates with activist organizations by engaging students in their projects.
- the Good Liars Partner — Collaborated with the Good Liars on a campaign targeting Stop & Shop's meat sourcing practices.
strategies · 5
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Campaign-Centered Movement Buildingmethodology: campaign_centered_activismBy embedding disruptive actions within sustained campaigns and broader social movements, the organization achieves meaningful change because isolated stunts lack leverage without strategic continuity and collective momentum.
- Humor and Spectacle as Tactical Amplifiersmethodology: laughtivismBy deploying humor, satire, and public spectacle, the organization captures public attention and shifts discourse around underreported issues because these emotionally engaging tactics bypass apathy and media saturation more effectively than traditional advocacy.
- Open-Source Empowerment and Replicationmethodology: open_source_activismBy freely sharing tools, methodologies, and stories through coaching and collaboration, the organization enables decentralized replication of high-impact activism because widespread, autonomous adoption scales impact beyond what any single group can achieve.
- Student-Centered Activist Trainingmethodology: student_centered_trainingBy providing iterative, personalized training and coaching aligned with participants' goals, the organization builds lasting activist capacity because skill development rooted in individual agency produces more effective and sustainable engagement.
- Truth-Telling Through Strategic Deceptionmethodology: truth_telling_through_deceptionBy using satirical impersonation, fictional AI personas, and "honest trickery" to mislead in service of truth, the organization exposes institutional hypocrisy and greenwashing because ridicule and illusion disrupt public trust in powerful entities more effectively than factual appeals alone.