Dear
,
Thank you for contacting us regarding the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) ads currently running on Muni vehicles—ads perceived by many to unjustly defame those of the Islamic faith. First and foremost, we would like to make it clear that the SFMTA does not endorse the AFDI ads. We apologize to anyone—including fellow city employees—who may be offended by the messaging of the ads and their placement on Muni vehicles. The AFDI, named as an “anti-Muslim” hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League, has placed similar anti-Islamic ads in other major metropolitan cities such as New York, Washington DC and Chicago. The group’s posting of these types of ads has been upheld in federal court under the “protected speech” clause of the First Amendment. Based on previous court rulings in favor of the AFDI’s right to free speech, It is likely that challenging these ads would result in a protracted, costly and ultimately unsuccessful legal battle—one that would not be in the best interest of San Francisco taxpayers. In response to the ads, we are again running our “Peace Campaign” on Muni vehicles through the end of the year. We created the Peace Campaign in response to negative ads on buses as a way to stand above hatred by promoting a positive message of peace, love, respect and acceptance. Peace Campaign ads will appear on 20 bus exteriors and on 2,000 interior car cards. The AFDI ad campaign currently seen on Muni buses was purchased by the AFDI in mid-October and will run through mid-November. Additionally, a new month-long AFDI campaign is scheduled to start the week of Nov. 10. Again, we would like to clearly state that the views and opinions expressed in these ads are those of the AFDI and do not reflect the views and opinions of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Thank you again for contacting us with your concerns. Sincerely,