Civic News
Every Voice, Every Vote

No, Kamala Harris isn’t the official candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles – and the city’s ads didn’t get hacked

'This was not a digital breach,' an official said. Instead, the false bus shelter signs were physical posters wedged between the screens and plexiglass.

Artist Winston Tseng appears to take credit for the stunt (Winston Tseng/Instagram)

The Eagles did not endorse Kamala Harris for president and, no, the City of Philadelphia did not get duped into running fake ads about it, both parties said. 

“Kamala, official candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles” posters, accompanied by an illustration of the vice president in an Eagles helmet, popped up on bus shelters around the city over the long weekend.

There’s also an URL for a legit Eagles website, encouraging people to register to vote — though not endorsing a candidate — that appears to be from the 2024 primary. 

The city, and its advertising partner Intersection, chalk the signs up to an act of what they call “vandalism” and others might call street art.

While it appears to the naked eye that the advertisements overtook digital billboards, they’re actually paper posters wedged between the digital screens and the plexiglass protecting them, Matthew Cassidy, communications manager for the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS), told Technical.ly. 

“This was not a digital breach,” Cassidy said. “Whomever is responsible for the illegally placed posters broke into the securely covered shelter ad space and somehow put the posters in the space.”

Especially in photos, the ads can appear digital, even though they’re not.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_g2Gi_sgBE/?img_index=1

Intersection will be removing the signs from bus shelters today and tomorrow, according to Cassidy. While the number and reach of the posters are unclear, they appeared across the city, from Penn’s campus to Spring Garden.

The Philadelphia Eagles responded to the posters shortly after they circulated online. “We are aware counterfeit political ads are being circulated and are working with our advertising partner to have them removed,” the team posted on Monday

Reached for comment, SEPTA clarified that the city owns those bus shelters, so the transit authority does not handle the ad space.

A statement from artist Winston Tseng via Instagram.

A similar campaign happened earlier this summer in Philly, featuring Joe Biden and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. That was by artist Winston Tseng. Tseng confirmed to Technical.ly that the poster is his artwork, but “I don’t know how it ended up at bus stops in Philadelphia,” he said.

The note, cheekily signed “official artist of the Philadelphia Eagles,” makes it clear that the artwork is a satirical take on the political endorsement seen across the country leading up to the national election in November.

Intersection and the city have a vetting process for buying digital ads on its bus shelters, according to Cassidy, of OTIS. These, however, were not vetted because they were not official ads sanctioned by Philly. 

“The city has a process to review all bus shelter ads,” Cassidy said, “but this, again, was not a digital ad.”

Companies: City of Philadelphia / Philadelphia Eagles

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

16 places to responsibly dispose of old electronics in Philadelphia

19 tech and entrepreneurship events to check out before the holidays

Are digital navigators the answer to closing Philadelphia’s tech gap?

Expect high-speed internet at 100 Philly rec centers in 2025, Verizon says

Technically Media