A series of road safety video advertisements depicting a careless driver as black and a lighter-skinned responsible family has led to accusations of racism after they were posted online.
The videos depict a character in blackface with textured hair named Mr Careless, who drives recklessly, and a fair-skinned family named the Safe family, who try to make good decisions on the road.
It is part of the 'Street Smart' campaign by insurance company Mapfre's social progress foundation, Fundacion Mapfre, which was launched in November and backed by the education ministry and Malta Public Transport.
But the advert has been heavily criticised by groups who campaign against racism.
'Bad is black'
Black Lives Matter Malta said the fact that the Mr Careless character differs visibly from the other family plays into the 'bad is black' effect, a term given to the phenomenon that people are more likely to perceive another to commit a crime if their skin tones are darker.
"BLM Malta is calling out this campaign and also the wider and pervasive anti-blackness that is found in various levels of Maltese society," it said.
"BLM Malta also finds it necessary to stress the importance of recruiting people with diverse origins and backgrounds in positions where decisions are taken so that such unacceptable productions are challenged and prevented from being released."
It noted that "clearly there is still much work to do before Malta achieves the objectives put forward by the [anti-racism] strategy".
Meanwhile, in a similar reaction, the African Media Association Malta said the series is "shameful" and "portrays the most horrible form of racism".
"The white guys are the good ones, who drive well and careful on the road, while the Black ones are bad! White people drive well, and black people are a danger on the road, says the ad. The use of blackface was supposed to add fun to the ugly story. How is it possible?
"What a strong message to children!"
'Totally innocent'
A spokesperson for Mapfre defended the campaign, describing it as "totally innocent" and labelling the reaction "disproportionate".
"The aim of this campaign is to create awareness about road safety measures among young children," she said.
"The videos were produced in a cartoonish way to appeal to a young audience and the fact that the faces were painted in yellow and grey were just to make it attractive. There was no intention whatsoever of portraying black people as being the bad ones.
"Unfortunately, the comments were taken out of context and sparked some outrage from Black Life Matter (sic). We had no intention to offend any race, religion or association."
She said the video, produced by Danusan was commissioned by Malta Public Transport, who coordinated the campaign.
A spokesperson for Malta Public Transport also defended the video.
“It is clear that the characters in this educational video series are crash test dummies, and the actors’ faces are painted in yellow and grey paint," a spokesperson said.
"There are no references to any race in this production, which was created solely for the purpose of promoting road safety.”
Applying dark make-up or ‘blackface’ is widely seen to be offensive and implies racist stereotypes of people with dark skin tones. The practice finds its origins in 19th-century minstrel shows which mocked black people and reinforced ideas of white people’s superiority.
When the campaign was launched, it was endorsed by the permanent secretary at the Ministry for Education, Francis Fabri.
“Children and students are our genuine change agents and are definitely in favour of a just and better world," he said during the launch.
"Through this awareness campaign, children shall engage in informed and interactive activities whilst enjoying and uplifting their learning experience."