NYC Mayoral Candidate in Hot Water After Campaign Ad Used Swiped Flickr Shots
New York Republican mayoral candidate Joe Lhota may be running as a law and order guy, but apparently the “law” part doesn’t cover intellectual property.
Turns out nine of the images used in a recent Lhota campaign ad — an ad meant to illustrate what a mess the Big Apple used to be - were taken without permission from Flickr users, several of whom are not too happy about it.
The 30-second spot, entitled “Can’t Go Back,” used images of riots, graffiti and other 1990s squalor to suggest the urban chaos the city could revert to if citizens elect rival Bill de Blasio. Campaign spokeswoman Jessica Proud told Newsday that the images came from Flickr, and the ad’s creators believed they were labeled as “royalty-free.”
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