Gray Panthers - MCI Worldcom

MCI Worldcom

In 2003, the Gray Panthers took out full page newspaper ads around the country, including The Washington Post and The Washington Times asking federal officials to stop awarding federal contracts to MCI WorldCom. The group was outraged at the US government’s reaction to that fact that MCI WorldCom had committed one of the largest corporate frauds in American history. The ad was sparked by the announcement that the federal government had awarded the company a multimillion dollar contract for a wireless network in Iraq. Controversy arose when it was found out that the money for the ads was raised by Issue Dynamics Inc., a consultancy firm that was acting for Verizon Communications, one of Worldcom's competitors. The group defended its actions by stating that it had “no objection to using the enemy to bring down the enemy.”