John,

This is what people power looks like. The Ekō movement is winning big –
for animals, for people under occupation, and for the future of technology
itself.

From shutting down dolphin torture tanks in Mexico, to forcing global
shipping giants to reckon with apartheid, to protecting the future of AI
from billionaire takeover, these wins show exactly what we can achieve
when we rise up together.

Ending dolphin cruelty: Mexico passes the historic Mincho Law

[1]A news article with a Spanish headline proclaiming the Mincho Law win,
reading ‘Mincho Law approved, the initiative that protects dolphins and
marine mammals in captivity.’ Below the headline is an image of three
dolphins swimming side by side near the surface of clear blue ocean water,
with sunlight reflecting off their bodies.

It started with a heartbreaking viral video. Mincho the dolphin was forced
to perform tricks at a Barceló hotel in Mexico, until one day he slammed
head-first onto the concrete and lay there, motionless. Public outrage
exploded – and Ekō members took action.

Thousands came together to demand justice, calling for the immediate
shutdown of this dolphin torture tank. And it worked. Thanks to pressure
from Ekō members, and the work of partners on the ground, Mexican
authorities closed it down for good. But that was just the first step.

Together, with partner group Animal Heroes, we launched a campaign for
something even bigger: a national law to end dolphin captivity
forever. Ekō members flooded lawmakers with demands for freedom and
dignity for dolphins across Mexico.

And now it’s official: Mexico has passed the Mincho Law!

This groundbreaking legislation bans dolphin shows, swim-with-dolphin
programs, and the breeding of marine mammals in captivity. Every dolphin
prison in the country will be forced to shut down, and dolphins will
finally be moved to sanctuaries where they can live out their lives in
peace and safety.

This victory is for Mincho, and for every dolphin forced to perform for
profit. Next up: working alongside our partners to ensure this historic
new law is fully enforced, so no dolphin ever has to suffer in captivity
again.

Challenging apartheid profiteers: Maersk cuts ties with Israeli
settlements

[2]A news article titled ‘Shipping giant Maersk divests from companies
linked to Israeli settlements.’ The subheadline says the move follows a
campaign accusing Maersk of links to Israel’s military and occupation of
Palestinian lands. Below the headline is a photo of a large Maersk Line
container ship loaded with multicolored shipping containers, sailing on
the ocean under a clear blue sky.

Global shipping giant Maersk has just announced it will stop moving goods
to and from Israel’s illegal settlements, a massive crack in the system
propping up the theft of Palestinian land and racist apartheid.

This breakthrough came as the UN named Maersk in an expert report as part
of the “economy of genocide”. Ekō members helped force their hand. Over
one hundred thousand people joined this campaign and chipped in to power a
hard-hitting shareholder resolution that exposed Maersk’s involvement to
investors, employees, and the world.

Ekō members also sent thousands of emails, flooded Maersk’s social media
with comments, and funded bold ads in Denmark’s second-biggest newspaper
during their Annual General Meeting (AGM), making sure Maersk couldn’t
hide from the truth: their ships are fueling genocide and occupation.

This is a massive step forward. But Maersk still has blood on its hands,
continuing to ship military components for Israel’s deadly F-35 program,
fueling the brutal bombardment that has already killed tens of thousands
in Gaza. We won’t stop until Maersk cuts off every shipment that enables
these war crimes 

Taking the UK to court: Suspending arms sales to Israel

[3]Protesters hold a large red banner reading “STOP ARMING ISRAEL” outside
the Royal Courts of Justice in London, where a legal case is being brought
against the UK government’s arms sales to Israel.

Nearly 10,000 Ekō members came together to back a groundbreaking legal
challenge against the UK government’s arms sales to Israel, raising
£27,000 to fuel the legal teams at GLAN and Palestinian human rights group
Al-Haq.This people-powered funding drove forward the fight to end the UK’s
complicity in war crimes.

In September 2024, as a direct result of this case, the UK government
suspended around 30 arms licences to Israel, a major crack in the system
enabling Israel’s deadly assault on Gaza.

While the court later ruled against halting exports of F-35 jet parts in
June 2025, the fight forced unprecedented accountability. For the first
time, the UK government was dragged into court to answer for its role in
fueling violence against Palestinians, and it won’t be the last.

Here’s what the GLAN team shared about the impact of Ekō’s support:

“Thank you again to Ekō for supporting this crucial case that seeks to
hold the UK accountable for complicity in Israel’s crimes. We couldn’t do
it without supporters like you.”

Defending the future of technology: OpenAI pledges to keep its non-profit
mission

[4]A giant digital billboard in Times Square shows an image of Sam Altman
depicted as a robotic Terminator figure, alongside text criticising his
attempt to turn OpenAI into a for-profit company. The billboard is part of
Ekō’s campaign demanding OpenAI stay true to its non-profit mission and
keep AI in the public interest.

When Big Tech tried to hijack OpenAI for private profit, Ekō members
joined together to defend the future of artificial intelligence from
billionaire takeover.

Over 130,000 of us signed the petition, demanding OpenAI stay true to its
founding promise. But we didn’t stop there.

Ekō members powered a bold, superhero-themed billboard campaign targeting
the Attorneys General of California and Delaware, backed by flyers
plastered right outside their offices. We lit up Times Square with a giant
ad depicting Sam Altman as a corporate robot, and launched a digital ad
blitz targeting OpenAI board members wherever they went.

Billboard trucks rolled straight to the homes and offices of key
decision-makers, making it impossible to ignore the outcry. Influencers
amplified the campaign to millions more, sending a clear message: AI must
remain in the public interest, not billionaire hands

And it worked. In May, OpenAI announced it wouldn’t abandon its non-profit
mission – a direct response to the wave of pressure we built together.

But we’re not taking their word for it just yet. The details still need to
be nailed down, and we will keep fighting to make sure their non-profit
mission isn’t just a PR promise, but a legally binding reality that
protects the future of AI for all of us.

[5]Image used by the Ekō movement on billboards and stunts, showing a
comic-style graphic with superhero imagery. The title reads “A.G. Bonta:
The People’s Hero Against For-Profit A.I.” The top panel shows intense
eyes with a speech bubble saying, “You promised us A.I. for the public
good.” The bottom panel shows a superhero flying with a fist raised amid
flames, with another speech bubble saying, “You can’t just line your
pockets at our expense!”

But wait, there’s more! Winning big campaigns means keeping the pressure
on, again and again. And that’s exactly what the Ekō movement is doing,
turning up the heat with fearless, creative tactics that corporations
can’t ignore.

Jamming Meta’s inbox with GDPR objections

Thousands of Ekō members in the UK joined forces to flood Meta’s inbox
with formal GDPR objections, demanding an end to creepy ads that track and
target us without consent. This digital mass action hit just days after
Meta settled a landmark legal case reaffirming our right to say “no” to
direct marketing. Ekō members across Europe are filing formal complaints
too. We’re not letting Meta off the hook – our data, our rights.

Exposing Microsoft’s war-profiting to its own employees

As part of our fight to end Microsoft’s role in Israel’s genocide in Gaza,
Ekō took the truth straight to their workforce. We ran targeted LinkedIn
ads that reached nearly 17,000 Microsoft employees – almost 10% of the
entire company. Thousands more Ekō members piled on, flooding Microsoft
executives with social media tags until they shut down comments at the
company’s biggest annual conference. This bold action fuelled media
headlines and supercharged worker protests demanding an end to these
deadly deals.

Forcing Santander to the table with powerful video messages

Ekō members took on banking giant Santander for funding Amazon
destruction. Teaming up with Stand.earth and WeMove Europe, members
recorded powerful videos calling out Santander’s Global Head of
Responsible Banking, demanding she support Indigenous women protecting the
rainforest. The videos lit up social media, amplifying Amazon defenders’
voices and exposing Santander’s dirty financing to the world. The pressure
was impossible to ignore. After months of silence, Santander finally
agreed to meet with the president of Brazil’s Chapra nation.

--

This is what we can achieve together. Every action that is taken, every
petition signed, every dollar chipped in, fuels a movement that is
unafraid to take on the world’s most powerful corporations.  Together,
we’re proving that no matter how big the fight, we can win.



With deep appreciation,
Deborah and the team at Ekō


More information:

[ [link removed] ]Aprueban la Ley Mincho, la iniciativa que protege a delfines y
mamíferos marinos en cautiverio
Yahoo. 30 June, 2025

[ [link removed] ]Shipping giant Maersk divests from companies linked to Israeli
settlements
Aljazeera. 23 June, 2025

 

 

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]