From failed traffic and public transportation efforts to stadium changes deemed unnecessary, an Atlanta comedian is using parody to fight what he considers city-mandated pettiness.
Ben Palmer created a fake city of Atlanta Facebook page. Complete with a city logo, the page has attracted more than 33,660 likes.
Palmer states in one post on the page:
“We have decided to build another football stadium next to the new stadium we are currently building which is next to the current stadium which is perfectly fine. We do not have any plans for the new new stadium but just wanted to show people we could have 3 stadiums at once.”
But not everyone thinks the page is a laughing matter.
The city responded Monday morning with a statement sent from Anne Torres, director of communications:
“The First Amendment allows people to express their opinions concerning their government in many ways, including satire. However, no person has the right to use a trademark in a manner that deceives or confuses the public.
“The Atlanta City Seal is protected as a registered trademark; it is the City’s brand. When people see our brand, they know that the material on which it appears is on behalf of, or recognized by, the Atlanta City Government.
“The owner of the satirical City Facebook page was not authorized to use the City’s trademark. We are working with Facebook to remove the City Seal and any other information on the Facebook page that might confuse or mislead the public into believing that the page or its contents represent the positions, policies or practices of Atlanta City Government.”
For his part, the comedian issued a list of demands he posted on Facebook and emailed to 11 Alive.
“I read the news that the city of Atlanta would like me to discontinue using their logo,” Palmer said. “I will remove the logo from the page and discontinue posting as ‘City of Atlanta’ in exchange for the following:
-All of my parking and traffic tickets are absolved
-$60 cash
-2 free rides on the trolley
