August, 05 2024, 12:50pm EDT

Fossil Free Media Launches Nationwide "Make Polluters Pay" Billboard Campaign
Stark visuals tie extreme weather to fossil fuel industry, call for accountability
Fossil Free Media is launching a nationwide billboard campaign for their Make Polluters Pay campaign starting the week of August 5th. The campaign, in partnership with the Sunrise Movement, will feature billboards in California, New York, Arizona, and Philadelphia, with plans to expand to Florida and Louisiana in September.
Building on the success of last year's viral billboard campaign, this year's effort features even bolder visuals and messaging. The billboards feature dramatic images of climate disasters specific to each state, such as the Paradise fires in California and Hurricane Ida's impact in New York. Bold text overlays the images with phrases like "Brought to you by Big Oil" and "Superstorms: Sponsored by Big Oil."
The campaign aims to cut through the fossil fuel industry's carefully crafted public image and expose the direct link between their operations and the escalating climate crisis.
"Interestingly, when we tried to place billboards in Houston, Texas, we encountered significant resistance," said Cassidy DiPaola, Communications Director and spokesperson for the Make Polluters Pay campaign. "Billboard owners there weren't willing to work with us, citing concerns about upsetting their oil and gas industry clients. They even asked if we could make the message 'more positive' and avoid using the term 'Big Oil.' This pushback starkly illustrates the fossil fuel industry's influence and the fear they instill, even in the advertising world."
The Make Polluters Pay campaign is a national effort, championed by groups like Fossil Free Media, Sunrise Movement, Yellow Dot Studios, and Climate Power to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for climate damages through legislation, lawsuits, and public pressure. The campaign simultaneously promotes state-level climate superfund bills and supports climate liability lawsuits against major oil and gas companies.
“Oil and gas companies are desperate. They see their public support imploding. They see a growing list of local and state governments suing them for climate change. Whether it's billboards or protests or TikToks, there is mounting pressure for politicians to take on Big Oil and fight for our generation to have a livable planet,” said Aru Shiney-Ajay, Executive Director, Sunrise Movement.
"For over half a century, Big Oil knew about the catastrophic consequences of burning fossil fuels," DiPaola said. "Instead of warning the public, they orchestrated a massive disinformation campaign, prioritizing profits over people and the planet. This willful deception has accelerated the climate crisis and extreme weather we're facing today, and it's past time they were held accountable."
Climate superfund bills would require fossil fuel companies to pay into dedicated funds for climate adaptation and resilience based on their historic greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, climate liability lawsuits seek to recover billions in damages from oil and gas companies to fund critical resilience projects.
"We're attacking Big Oil's impunity from multiple angles," DiPaola explained. "Whether through superfund legislation or in the courts, our message is clear: it's time for polluters to pay for the damage they've caused."
The momentum for both strategies is building rapidly. Vermont became the first state to sign a climate superfund bill into law this May, with New York poised to follow suit after passing similar legislation through both chambers in June. On the litigation front, over a quarter of Americans are now represented in climate liability lawsuits against major oil and gas companies, with Puerto Rico becoming the latest jurisdiction to file suit in July.
“There is so much disinformation from Big Oil about extreme weather change and causes from fossil fuel pollution. Oil companies could take action but they like money. A lot. Unfortunately for them, we like the planet. A lot. So we're focused on fighting against them with satirical videos, funny billboards and anything else to hold them accountable for their constant pollution and lies," said Staci Roberts-Steele, Managing Director and Executive Producer, Yellow Dot Studios
The billboard campaign comes as Vice President Kamala Harris ramps up her presidential campaign, bringing renewed attention to her history of investigating fossil fuel companies as California's Attorney General.
"Vice President Harris has a track record of holding Big Oil accountable, from her time as California's AG to her calls for DOJ investigations on the campaign trail," DiPaola noted. "If elected president, she would have unprecedented power to make polluters pay for the damage they've caused."
Recent polling shows strong public support for making fossil fuel companies pay for climate damages. A Data for Progress/Fossil Free Media survey found that 66% of likely voters support laws requiring major oil and gas companies to pay a share of climate costs, with backing from 81% of Democrats and 61% of Independents.
The Make Polluters Pay billboard campaign aims to capitalize on this momentum and increase public pressure for accountability. Fossil Free Media plans to expand the campaign to additional states and explore other creative messaging tactics in the coming months.
Fossil Free Media is a nonprofit media lab that supports the movement to end fossil fuels and address the climate emergency.
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Trump administration immigration officials reportedly dismissed Ward Sakeik's ordeal as a "sob story."
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A newlywed Palestinian woman from Texas released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention earlier this week says she was shackled for long periods, denied food and water, and subjected to other human rights abuses during nearly five months in ICE custody—all because she is a stateless person.
Ward Sakeik, 22, was born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian parents from Gaza. Because Saudi Arabia does not grant birthright citizenship to the children of foreign nationals, Sakeik was officially stateless when her family legally emigrated to the United States when she was 8 years old.
“I was moved around like cattle.”
Ward Sakeik, US college graduate and homeowner, speaks out following 140 days in ICE hellhole pic.twitter.com/bNTgs7362h
— World Socialist Web Site (@WSWS_Updates) July 5, 2025
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Sakeik said she now plans to advocate on behalf of women and girls imprisoned by ICE.
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It’s hard to make the Texas flood tragedy worse, except to know that on the same day Trump signed a bill to stop our efforts to defeat the climate change that is causing increased frequency of disastrous floods. And giving us more expensive electricity. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/05/c...
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— Governor Jay Inslee (@govjayinslee.bsky.social) July 5, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Instead of taking action to combat the planetary emergency, the Trump administration is ramping up fossil fuel production while waging war on clean energy and climate initiatives. The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by Trump on Friday slashes the tax credits for electric vehicles and other renewable technologies including wind and solar energy that were a cornerstone of the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act.
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"We would like to alert you to the fact we may be committing offenses under the Terrorism Act tomorrow, Saturday 5 July, in Parliament Square at about 1pm," the group said in an open letter to Met Commissioner Mark Rowley.
"If we cannot speak freely about the genocide that is occurring, if we cannot condemn those who are complicit in it and express support for those who resist it, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning, and democracy and human rights in this country are dead," the letter argues.
Parfitt told Novara Media that members of Defend Our Juries were "testing the law."
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Members of the group Defend Our Juries publicly declare their opposition to Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza and their support for the proscribed group Palestine Action while Metropolitan Police officers look on before arresting them during a July 4, 2025 demonstration in London. (Photo: Kristian Buus/In Pictures via Getty Images)
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The nonviolent group is now on the same legal footing in Britain as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Joining or supporting Palestine Action is now punishable by up to 14 years behind bars.
At midnight, Palestine Action will be proscribed under the Terrorism Act.Their real “crime”? Exposing the UK’s role in arming Israel’s genocide.This is a dark day for our democracy.Criminalising non-violent resistance won’t silence the truth.We are all Palestine Action 🇵🇸
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— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana.bsky.social) July 4, 2025 at 2:38 PM
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