TfL Advert Banned for Stereotyping Black Men After Just One Complaint

Published: 19 February 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

A Facebook advert from Transport for London (TfL) has been banned by the UK’s advertising regulator for reinforcing negative racial stereotypes about black men, even though the ruling followed just a single complaint from a viewer concerned about the content. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the ad — part of TfL’s “Act Like a Friend” campaign encouraging passengers to intervene safely if they witness sexual harassment or hate crime on London’s public transport network — “featured a harmful stereotype” and was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence.

The short social media clip showed a black teenage boy verbally harassing a young white woman on a bus, alongside a white male friend. However, the ASA said that in the version seen by users the black teenager was depicted as the sole aggressor, reinforcing an association between black males and threatening behaviour that could perpetuate harmful racial assumptions.

TfL defended the campaign, saying the Facebook advert was one of three cut‑down versions of a longer two‑minute film that used a diverse cast and showed different scenarios of harassment and intervention. The other short clips reportedly showed, for example, a white male committing a hate crime against a black woman. TfL argued it was unlikely that many people would see just the single clip in isolation, but the ASA said ads must be judged individually as they appear in users’ feeds.

Despite TfL’s efforts to ensure its advertising reflected London’s diverse population, the ASA concluded that the isolated version of the advert reinforced a negative racial stereotype about black males as perpetrators of threatening behaviour and ruled it must not be used again in that form. The regulator also instructed TfL to ensure future campaigns avoid any content that perpetuates harmful racial stereotypes or causes serious offence.

TfL said it was sorry that the shortened version fell short of its usual standards and confirmed the specific advert would no longer be used, while reaffirming its commitment to inclusive and socially responsible messaging across its network.

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