NEW YORK (AP) — Mitt Romney's secretly recorded remarks at a fundraiser reinforce a key reality of the digital media era: the power of viral video to disrupt and potentially alter a high-stakes political contest.
The amateur video of Romney casting 47 percent of Americans as believing they are "victims" who feel entitled to government assistance has burned up the Internet and aired continually on cable television.
The ensuing controversy has thrown Romney's campaign off track in a tight race with President Barack Obama and with less than seven weeks until Election Day.
A spokeswoman for the magazine Mother Jones says the full video and a series of clips have received at least 5 million page views on its website and 3 million views on YouTube.
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