the buzz log

Attention China. You officially have a P.R. problem. Recent protests surrounding the 2008 Olympic torch relay have captured the world's attention big time, turning a normally rah-rah event into a publicity nightmare.

Queries on "olympic torch" surged a raucous 281% on Monday, but that was just the beginning. Once news of the Paris protests hit the Web, searches on the twice extinguished flame jumped an additional 172%.

One might think that after the chaos in Paris, the torch would take a break. Maybe go to the movies or hit the sauna. Not so. The flame's next stop is San Francisco, a city known for its beauty, hills, and population of protestors willing to be outraged at a moment's notice. Uh oh.

The torch isn't scheduled to appear in San Francisco until Wednesday, but all signs point to a not-so-warm welcome. A few demonstrators already climbed the Golden Gate Bridge to fly a banner expressing anger over China's treatment of Tibet. Folks of all ages searched on "olympic torch san francisco," "olympic torch map," and "olympic torch schedule" among many, many others.

The protests and controversy led to a lot of popular articles and blogs within Yahoo! Buzz. A story on the perceived need for increased security for the torch's trip through San Francisco was the most buzzed sports article of the past 24 hours. Another piece on how most Americans feel China shouldn't host the games garnered boffo buzz as well.

Now there are talks that Olympic organizers may cancel the torch's trip through San Francisco entirely. Whether that would be viewed as a bitter victory for protestors or a savvy public relations move by Olympic organizers remains to be seen.