All Aboard Florida Airs New Ad To Combat Disinformation

30-second spot touts a re-invigoration of Henry Flagler’s dream, tens of thousands of jobs, and the positive environmental impact of the privately funded passenger rail project.

By Jacob Engels

Just weeks after a group of super-wealthy snowbirds launched a ridiculous ad campaign spreading conspiracy theories about private passenger rail, All Aboard Florida has released it’s first ad showing Floridians how the privately operated, funded, and maintained high speed rail system will benefit Florida. Only weeks ago, a Tea Party leader in Jacksonville charged the All Aboard Florida express rail project was ” a secret government plot to seize our cars and limit our mobility”.

The ad starts out paying homage to Floridan railroad pioneer Henry Flagler, whose company is behind the modern express passenger rail.

“For the past 100 hundred years, Henry Flagler’s train has moved Florida. And now Flagler’s company is doing it again.”

It goes on to state that the project is not financed by taxpayer grants or giveaways, a point that the folks at All Aboard Florida have been stressing for months in response to criticism from opposition groups claiming it will use taxpayer money. Earlier this month, a lauded transportation expert debunked that conspiracy theory and others being propagated about All Aboard Florida opposition groups – you can read that here.

To close, the commercial reminds viewers that All Aboard Florida will take millions of cars off the road, improve the environment, and provide serious positive economic impact – all points which are backed up in an economic report released last month. The report was conducted by former Undersecretary of Commerce, Dr. Tony Villamil.