Paper Mistakes 'Pedobear' for Olympic Mascot

Cartoon bear is associated with pedophilia, not sports
By Emily Rauhala,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 9, 2010 9:14 AM CST
Paper Mistakes 'Pedobear' for Olympic Mascot
'Pedobear,' far right, is not an official Vancouver Olympics mascot. Oops.   (screenshot)

From the fact-checking department: When publishing an image of Olympic mascots, check to make sure there's not a cartoon bear with ties to pedophilia mixed in. A Polish paper made just such a mistake, accidentally lifting the meme known as "Pedobear"—widely used to mock pedophiles—from Google Images and popping him into a collage of the other mascots of the Vancouver Games.

The cartoon bear was originally devised by a Canadian graphic designer, apparently to protest the cost of the Games. Members of an anarchic message board then adopted it. (More 2010 Vancouver Olympics stories.)

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