Apple’s 5th Ave store spray-painted to protest ‘climate hypocrisy’

A climate change activist was arrested after spray-painting Apple’s 5th Avenue store as part of a protest against Big Tech’s “climate hypocrisy.” Protestors from the Extinction Rebellion environmental group staged a demonstration at the New York City storefront on Sunday, and one individual spray-painted “Boycott” beneath the Apple logo on the building’s entrance, along with “Tim + Trump = Toxic.”

In a press release posted after the demonstration, Extinction Rebellion called attention to the appearance of Big Tech CEOs at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. Extinction Rebellion pointed out that the executives “once claimed to be big supporters of the Paris Agreement” but are now “backing an administration that’s gutting environmental rules and funneling billions of dollars to fossil fuels.”

A pair of Extinction Rebellion activists also stood inside the Apple store to call out the company’s relationship with the “tyrant” Trump administration. “Apple claims to support climate action. Apple claims to be good for the environment, and they continue to support climate denial, and ICE raids on your community,” one of the protesters shouted. “Tim Cook lies and people die.” The protestors followed up with a chant: “Dump Trump, Apple!”

Extinction Rebellion, which has staged protests in New York City in the past, brought up the electricity demand that’s expected with the growth of AI in the tech industry, too. Last month, Google’s annual sustainability report revealed that its carbon emissions grew 11 percent last year to 11.5 million tons of pollution, and energy usage rose at its data centers. Microsoft is similarly moving further from its climate goals as it invests more in AI, which is estimated to consume more power than Bitcoin by the end of this year.

“In 2023, Tim Cook called combatting climate change one of the most urgent priorities of our time,” Miles Grant, an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson, said in the press release. “Fast forward to 2025, and he’s donating to Trump—the man leading the charge to roll back all climate progress. They’ve betrayed their customers and the planet at the most critical moment in human history.” 

Apple didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.