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Olympic Alarm Bells Ringing


Iran's Fars news agency decided to illustrate an online report about the thousands of cellphones that will be either stolen or lost during the upcoming Olympic Games in London with a graphic of the Olympics' iconic rings.

But not just any graphic. These five Olympic rings were, unmistakably, multicolored condoms.

The graphic, which has since been replaced, has been making the rounds on Iranian social media, sparking more than a few chuckles.

There's no clear indication of why the Fars editor originally decided to use the provocative graphic. Or why Fars has a graphic of the Olympic rings as condoms in its graphic database in the first place.

The International Olympic Committee -- which is very protective of its Olympic trademarks -- may have had something to say about its ultimate removal.

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Written by RFE/RL editors and correspondents, Transmission serves up news, comment, and the odd silly dictator story. While our primary concern is with foreign policy, Transmission is also a place for the ideas -- some serious, some irreverent -- that bubble up from our bureaus. The name recognizes RFE/RL's role as a surrogate broadcaster to places without free media. You can write us at transmission+rferl.org

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