The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, or SF MOMA, has pulled its ads from the SF Weekly as part of a national advertiser boycott launched by an Ohio minister to get the paper’s parent company to stop running sex ads that are alleged to promote sex trafficking.
Pastor Justin Wassel of Columbus, Ohio, has gathered thousands of signatures online asking Village Voice Media to shut down its Backpage.com adult section. He’s been joined by 20 other ministers.
Village Voice Media, owner of the SF Weekly, disputes the claim that its advertising results in sex trafficking, saying it has been an “industry leader in utilizing Internet technology, as well of hundreds of employees, to prevent such crimes.”
Other advertisers who have pulled their ads include Starbucks, Macy’s, MillerCoors, AT&T, LiveNation, REI, American Airlines, Pfizer, IKEA, H&M, Best Buy, T-Mobile, US Bank and IHOP.
SFist has a story about the boycott with links to statements from both sides about the controversy.