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A video showing cops in Copenhagen hugging cyclists and giving them free helmets has been making the rounds at some of our favorite sites, including TreeHugger and BoingBoing. It has generated incredibly entertaining comment threads with discussions of cycling culture, debates over the pros and cons of helmet laws, and observations about the cultural differences between the US and northern Europe.

But video of the hug-happy policemen was not real, alas. It was produced by some organization called the Danish Road Safety Council. The group’s website is entirely in Danish so we can’t say much about them or their motives, though this Copenhagen blog describes them as “car-centric”. The helmet maker Giro also might have been involved, as the company logo is visible in the film.

In any case, the clip is still much nicer than New York City’s version of the cop-and-cyclist viral video.

Tags: THE PR WAR