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MBTA to ban political ads on public transit
The MBTA said it will ban all political advertisements throughout the system after an anti-Israel ad sparked controversy.
As Metro reported on Wednesday, the ads faced criticism from pro-Israel groups who claimed they were unfair, and the ACLU threatened to take action in support of the ads.
“Israel’s military kills one Palestinian child every three days using U.S. tax dollars,” the ad’s text reads, according to WMUR.
Now, in the wake of the wave of controversy, the MBTA has banned all political advertisements.
“To reduce unnecessary litigation which can arise from issue-based ads of this nature, the MBTA is working toward amending its advertising guidelines and, in the future, will not accept ads concerning political issues or matters of public debate,” said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.
The current advertisement standards for the MBTA ban all political ads for pointed towards individual campaigns, ballot measures or that could be “demeaning or disparaging” Boston.com reports. Before the broader ban is put into effect it has to be approved by the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board.
The ban is expected to take effect in two months.
