Well-devised and generously funded environmental campaigns are nothing new. But from the very beginning, the #ExxonKnew campaign has been different. It has brought together activists, rich donors (like the Rockefellers), academics, and even organizations that pass themselves off as news outlets. It has manufactured its own echo chamber not just as a vehicle for advocacy, but also to prod government officials to open investigations into entities that haven’t supported the kinds of policies that environmentalists want f you think that sounds like a threat to free speech, you’re right – and the #ExxonKnew activists have admitted they are doing exactly that.