The Wardman Wire

In a previous article, I exposed the “Spam-Bot” hosted by Greenpeace on their website - which is being used to send mass emails to Members of the European Parliament who disagree with Greenpeace policy.

After sending a not to my local MEPs via the excellent www.writetothem.com website, I have already received three replies within 48 hours.

(Note to the MEPs below if you read this. Clearly I contacted you as myself - this blog is pseudonymous, which is why you may not recognise the name “Matt Wardman”).

Comments from MEPs

From Roger Helmer MEP (Conservative):

Thank you for your concern. I receive thousands of emails a day, and many of the Greenpeace emails are being registered as spam.

From Bill Newton-Dunn MEP (Liberal Democrat) :

Thank you - I agree with you 100%.

Hence I have declined to encourage Greenpeace by signing their Motion.

Instead I have complained to the Green MEP who has organised it - and, to give her credit, she was surprised and hear it and promised me to inform Greenpeace.

From Chris Heaton-Harris MEP (Conservative):

Thanks for this. You are quite right and there are a number of problems for us MEPs with the way the Greenpeace website operates. For example, we don´t get to see the address of the correspondent and so have no idea if we are answering to a constituent or not. For your information I have already moaned at Greenpeace about this and am not going to sign the declaration and below is a statement I have issued to the press about it.

The Greenpeace campaign has been absolutely ridiculous. Greenpeace’s website has been sending emails apparently from members of the public, but without any contact details, so MEPs have no idea whether or not these people are constituents or not. Their site clearly isn’t working, as it seems to be sending at least 3 emails per person - I have received almost 50 from a “Mr <name removed>” on his own! It is a terrible lobbying effort, so much so that the Parliament email system has automatically designed these emails as “SPAM” so they don’t get through anyway. The internet has provided some great ways to enhance citizen participation in politics - www.theyworkforyou.com is an excellent example - but Greenpeace need to seriously re-think their ideas, as sending spam emails without contact details is not helpful or constructive.”

Greenpeace need to learn about democracy

Note only are Greenpeace sending out SPAM, it appears that they are not even doing it competently. They appear to have quite severely damaged their reputation with MEPs by means of this dog’s dinner.

It is time they learned to participate in the Democratic process as equals rather than trying to bulldose their way through it with blunt instruments, con-tricks and demagoguery.

Perhaps they will learn.

In my dreams.

Greenpeace Suppress Blog Comment

Incidentally, the comment I left on the Greenpeace blog entry about this issue has not appeared. You can see it in my previous posting.

[Edit: 7 June 4pm: The comment thread can now be read here]