Olympic-themed political ads are getting yanked from the Internet. Priorities USA Action, a super PAC supporting President Barack Obama, removed a campaign ad from its website Thursday after the International Olympics Committee (IOC) said it infringed copyright laws. And now, an ad from Mitt Romney's campaign featuring images from the Olympic Games is also off the Web.
A Romney campaign ad released earlier this year that includes a brief clip from the 2002 Olympic Games has been set to "private" on the official campaign YouTube page. It is not clear if the new classification of the video is related to an IOC request, but timing suggests that may be the cause.
Romney, who currently is attending the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in London, was the CEO of the Olympic Organizing Committee when the Winter Games were held in Salt Lake City in 2002. His leadership of the committee is often credited for "saving" the 2002 Games, which were in financial turmoil when Romney took the helm in 1999.
Sandrine Tonge, a spokeswoman for the IOC, told Yahoo News Thursday that the Committee "does not allow footage of the Olympic Games or an association with the Olympic rings to be used for political purposes," which could prove to be a headache for Republicans who want to highlight Romney's success 10 years ago.
A spokeswoman from the Romney campaign did not immediately return a request for comment about the removal of the ad.