John,

We’re only a few months into 2025, and already, our movement is delivering
real wins for people and the planet.

From forcing corporate polluters to pay up, to blocking the world’s first
octopus farm, to taking on Big Tech’s role in genocide and
disinformation—Ekō members are piling on the pressure, again and again.
And the best part? It’s working.

The headlines may be full of bad news, but not today. Today, we’re
celebrating the power of our movement and the victories we’ve won
together. Let’s dive in!

Making polluters pay: we’re driving landmark climate legislation forward

[1]Protesters in yellow shirts hold signs demanding accountability from Big Oil.
One sign reads, "PROTECT NYERS – MAKE BIG OIL PAY." The headline below announces
a major victory: New York has become the second state to pass a law holding big
polluters accountable.

Corporations spew out millions of tons of carbon pollution every
year—while communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis are left to
foot the bill. But thanks to relentless pressure from Ekō members and our
partners, we’re turning the tide on corporate polluters.

In a huge victory for climate justice, New York passed a groundbreaking
bill that will force major polluters to pay up. The Climate Change
Superfund Act makes Big Oil and other corporate offenders contribute to a
$75 billion climate fund, helping frontline communities rebuild and
prepare for climate disasters.

To get here, Ekō members flooded lawmakers with petitions, emails, and
calls—demanding they hold corporate polluters accountable. And we teamed
up with grassroots climate leaders from the Make Polluters Pay coalition
to turn up the heat in Albany, making sure lawmakers felt the pressure.

This is a massive step forward, but the fight isn’t over. Corporate
lobbyists are already circling to kill it, but together, we can push
back. And we’re not stopping here. Next up: pushing for the same
groundbreaking bill in California.

Holding Big Tech accountable: we’re exposing Meta & X’s role in profiting from
war and far-right extremism

[2]A news screenshot from Middle East Eye with the headline: "Facebook
hosted adverts fundraising for Israeli army and lawmakers," reporting on
Meta's role in promoting military-related fundraising campaigns.

Meta and X claim they’re cracking down on disinformation and hate
speech—but thanks to Ekō members, we’ve exposed the truth: these platforms
aren’t just failing to stop extremism, they’re profiting from it.

With your support, we launched groundbreaking investigations that revealed
just how deep the problem runs. Facebook and Instagram were caught hosting
paid ads fundraising for Israeli military gear, including drones, assault
rifle sights, and night vision goggles for battalions tied to war crimes.
At the same time, Meta has been cashing in on ads from far-right Israeli
politicians spreading genocidal rhetoric—ads that blatantly violate its
own policies.

Meanwhile, in the lead up to Germany’s federal elections, we put Meta and
X to the test and what we uncovered was chilling: both companies approved
a series of extremist ads inciting violence, including calls for
concentration camps and gas chambers for immigrants. Meta approved half
the ads within 12 hours, and X greenlit all of them. 

We pulled the ads before they went live, but their approval shows what we
already knew: these platforms are amplifying and profiting from the far
right and fueling violence. That’s why we took this right to the top and
submitted our findings to the EU Commission, who are already investigating
these platforms for breaking the law. Now our research will add to the
growing pile of evidence against these reckless tech companies. Thousands
of Ekō members have demanded action, even as Trump and his billionaire
allies pressure the EU to weaken enforcement.

Musk and Zuckerberg won’t fix this on their own. But if we keep up the
pressure, we are forcing them to choose: clean up their platforms or face
real consequences.

Disrupting industrialised farming: we’re stalling Nueva Pescanova’s plans for
the world’s first octopus farm

[3]Protesters hold up purple signs reading "BAN OCTOPUS FARMS" and "GRANJA DE
PULPOS" during a demonstration against octopus farming.

For years, Spanish seafood giant Nueva Pescanova has been pushing to
mass-produce octopuses in factory farms, cramming these intelligent,
sensitive creatures into tanks, only to slaughter them for profit. But
thanks to relentless pressure from the Ekō community and our partners,
their plans are stalled, and the backlash has been a PR disaster. 

The Port Authority of the Canary Islands just confirmed that there’s been
no movement on the project for two years—no new steps, no progress. What
was meant to be a groundbreaking project is now stuck in limbo, proving
that we can stop this industry in its tracks.

Half a million Ekō members signed the viral petition demanding Nueva
Pescanova shut down its plans—the sheer scale of opposition made headlines
and forced the company into damage control. But we didn’t stop there. We
teamed up with our partners, Anima Naturalis, in Spain to bring the fight
to the streets of Madrid, staging powerful demonstrations and confronting
lawmakers with the undeniable truth: octopus farming is a disaster in the
making.

The pressure is working. But Nueva Pescanova hasn’t officially pulled the
plug yet, claiming they are taking a “pause”, most likely to save face—so
we need to keep fighting until this farm is shut down for good. Stay tuned
for next steps! (One thing you can do right now: Seafood giant, Grupo
Profand, is now trying to step in where Nueva Pescanova has failed, and is
launching a baby octopus lab, join the call to stop it [ [link removed] ]here.)

Exposing Maersk’s role in arming Israel: we’re turning up the pressure

[5]The ad Ekō ran in a Danish newspaper, depicting a massive Maersk cargo
ship, bearing the Danish flag, headed towards a war-ravaged city.

Thanks to Ekō members, we ran this ad in one of Denmark’s largest
newspapers.

Maersk has been caught red-handed, shipping millions of pounds of military
cargo to Israel—directly fueling the atrocities in Gaza. They tried to
keep their role in arming Israel under wraps, but thanks to Ekō members,
we forced it onto the world’s stage.

To hold them accountable, we co-filed a shareholder resolution with a
Danish investor, demanding they disclose their human rights due diligence
and stop shipping weapons to Israel. That meant their Annual General
Meeting—usually a polished PR moment—became a high-stakes confrontation.

We knew winning the resolution vote was impossible (the Maersk family
holds the majority of shares!), but that wasn’t the point. The goal was to
expose their complicity, force them to answer for their actions, and make
it clear that enabling war crimes comes at a cost. And we did just that.

In the lead-up to the AGM, over 70 global civil society organizations,
including Amnesty International and Oxfam Denmark, joined us in demanding
accountability. The campaign dominated headlines, with coverage from
Reuters, AFP, and top shipping industry news outlets.

On the day of the AGM, Maersk executives were confronted—live and on the
record—by Ekō campaigners and multiple shareholders demanding answers.
Despite their attempts to deny the evidence, Maersk was finally forced to
admit, in front of their investors and the media, that they do, in fact,
ship military cargo to Israel.

This is a massive breakthrough and none of this would have been possible
without you. Thanks to Ekō members, we ran an ad in one of Denmark’s
largest newspapers, reaching over 280,000 people, flooded Maersk’s social
media with so many comments that they shut down their comment sections,
and our incredible partners organized a protest of 1,500 strong outside
their Copenhagen HQ on the day of the AGM. Protests also took place at
Maersk offices in London, Oslo, and Sydney, making it impossible for them
to ignore the growing global outrage. 

Maersk thought this issue would fade. Instead, we’ve made sure the world
knows the truth. The fight isn’t over, and we’re not backing down.

--

This is just the beginning. Every campaign, every petition, every action
adds up—and together, we’re proving that people power can take on even the
biggest challenges. No matter what 2025 throws our way, we’ll keep
fighting, pushing— and winning— together.



With deep appreciation,
Deborah and the team at Ekō


[ [link removed] ]'Major Victory': New Law Makes NY Second State to Hold Big Polluters
Accountable The Common Dreams 26 Dec 2024

[ [link removed] ]Maersk AGM vote on Israel arms transport amid Gaza war Reuters 18 March
2025

[ [link removed] ]The planned octopus farm in Gran Canaria will not see the light of day
Canarias7 10 October 2024 (in Spanish)

[ [link removed] ]Facebook hosted adverts fundraising for Israeli army and lawmakers
Middle East Eye 20 December 2024

 

 

Ekō is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

Please help keep Ekō strong by chipping in $3. [link removed]