Two Extinction Rebellion activists were arrested after pouring paint inside Google’s New York City office as part of the climate group’s protest against Big Tech’s “climate hypocrisy.” This protest comes just two days after a climate change activist associated with the Extinction Rebellion spray-painted the word “Boycott” on an Apple store.
These protests are typical of the attention-grabbing stunts that the group is (in)famous for – it had earlier faced backlash when Extinction Rebellion activists glued their hands to a Pablo Picasso painting in Australia.
Vandalizing Google’s office
On Tuesday, Extinction Rebellion activists reached Google’s St. John’s Terminal headquarters in Hudson Square, New York City.
“Shortly before noon, two activists poured paint in front of Google’s prominent interior branding signage, climbed onto the desk, unfurled a banner reading ‘Tech Loves Trump,’ and chanted Google! Dump Trump!’,” the group said in a press release.
Both climate activists were arrested, the group confirmed.
Photos shared on Instagram show the activists standing on a desk while holding a banner that reads “Tech Loves Trump”. Green paint is spilled on the floor in front of them, while the Google sign can be seen in the background.
What is Extinction Rebellion demanding?
Extinction Rebellion is demanding that tech companies like Apple and Google cut ties with US President Donald Trump. Notably, Donald Trump’s inauguration was attended by Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, among others tech tycoons.
{{/usCountry}}Extinction Rebellion is demanding that tech companies like Apple and Google cut ties with US President Donald Trump. Notably, Donald Trump’s inauguration was attended by Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, among others tech tycoons.
{{/usCountry}}“Big Tech had a choice—and they chose Trump,” said Nate Smith, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion NYC. “They’re propping up a regime that’s torching climate policy, reopening coal plants, and putting our future on the line. This is a betrayal of everything they claim to stand for.”
The climate group has accused Pichai, Cook, Zuckerberg and other tech CEOs of “endorsing a regime committed to dismantling environmental protections and powering AI data centers with coal.”