Chevron Asks: Would You Believe This Man If He Appeared On Your Local News?

The oil giant is hoping the answer to that question is yes, as they created an extensive video rebuttal to a “60 Minutes” report that The New York Times‘ Brian Stelter calls, “potentially damaging…about oil company contamination of the Amazon rain forest in Ecuador…”

The report states a verdict on a case that would cost Chevron $27 billion, “the largest environmental lawsuit in history,” is coming soon, according to correspondent Scott Pelley. The host of the video is Gene Randall, a former CNN correspondent turned corporate consultant.

According to Stelter, “The Chevron video never directly claims to be journalism. But a casual viewer could be swayed by the description – ‘Gene Randall reporting’ – and the journalistic devices used, including file footage of the rain forest and over-the-shoulder interviews with experts…Mitch Anderson, a campaigner for Amazon Watch, said that Chevron had resorted to ‘embarrassing public relations tactics.’”

So far, the numbers tell the best story. The “60 Minutes” segment had 12 million viewers, while the Chevron video has just over 2,000 views on YouTube. View the “60 Minutes” segment below.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.