Free Speech and Public Transit

New anti-Muslim advertising is up on public transit systems in New York and Washington, D.C., after courts ruled refusing the advertising would violate First Amendment free speech rights. 

From the New York Times:

As violent and sometimes deadly protests consume much of the Muslim world in response to an American-made video mocking the Prophet Muhammad, New Yorkers will soon encounter another potentially inflammatory rendering of Islam: an advertisement in the transit system that reads, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.”

It concludes with the words, “Support Israel. Defeat Jihad,” wedged between two Stars of David.

And from Politico, here in the nation’s capital:

Citing the First Amendment, a D.C. District Court judge ruled Friday that the ads from the American Freedom Defense Initiative must be placed in a handful of stations in the system by 5 p.m. Monday.

Atlantic Cities has a roundup of past cases of disputes over controversial, politicized advertising in subway stations or on buses. That kind of advertising could be one avenue the Honolulu rail system (if it’s built) explores down the road if it’s in need of extra revenue.

— Michael Levine