Recently, Vice President Kamala Harris found herself in the midst of a controversy when political ads dubbing her as the official presidential candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles started appearing around the city. The problem? The team had not approved the ad, nor had they endorsed any presidential candidate. The city immediately took action to have all the posters removed, as they were unauthorized and misleading.
The ads were displayed at bus stops owned by Intersection Media, who quickly issued a statement denying their legitimacy. The company acknowledged that some of their bus shelters in Philadelphia had been vandalized, leading to the replacement of paid advertising copy with an unauthorized version. Despite having locks on the ad boxes to prevent such incidents, unauthorized copies were still being inserted.
The Philadelphia Eagles addressed the situation as well, referring to the ads as “counterfeit political ads” and stating their intention to have them removed promptly. While the advertisements were fake, the URL provided on the posters was real and directed fans to voting resources in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Notably, there was no mention of Kamala Harris or Donald Trump on the linked page.
Investigation and Removal Efforts
It remains unclear who was behind the distribution of these unauthorized posters. The city confirmed that it was not a digital breach but a physical placement of the ads at the locations. Efforts were made to take down all counterfeit posters by Tuesday morning to prevent any further confusion or misinformation among residents. The incident highlighted the importance of verifying the authenticity of political endorsements and advertisements, especially in a critical state like Pennsylvania during an election year.
Pennsylvania has been identified as a crucial state in the upcoming election, with the outcome potentially being determined by just thousands of votes. The unauthorized endorsement of Kamala Harris by linking her to the Philadelphia Eagles could have unintended consequences and impact the perception of both the team and the candidate. As the city works to remove all unauthorized posters, it serves as a reminder of the need for transparency and accountability in political advertising.