Social-media scrutiny of Rob Ford escalating
TORONTO — The level of “social media paparazzi” surrounding Rob Ford is unprecedented, media and online experts say, as videos showing the Toronto mayor enjoying a night on the town have sparked renewed questions about his behaviour.
Three short videos posted online, one of which was titled “Mayor Rob Ford wants to party,” show the mayor at a street festival bantering with people who had surrounded him and were posing for pictures with him, taking photos and shooting video.
Within minutes the criticism started pouring in on Twitter, with many people accusing the mayor of being drunk and ridiculing his behaviour. Media outlets ran stories on the reaction the following day. One of the Ford videos was on YouTube’s main page for most of the weekend.
Greg Elmer, professor of new media in Ryerson’s television arts program, said the lightning speed of the reaction doesn’t surprise him.
Elmer said part of the problem is the mayor has made a habit of taking pictures with everyone who ask.
“Unfortunately it seems to be as though this is an individual who likes to show up and have a drink now and again apparently,” said Elmer, who has recently been researching controversial videos, photos and blog posts of celebrities or other public figures. “That kind of behaviour has started to get him into more and more trouble.”
Ford told his weekly radio show on Sunday he had a couple of beers Friday night but contends the videos are being blown out of proportion.
“I had a good time, I let my hair down,” Ford said. “Did I have a couple beers? Absolutely, I had a couple beers.
“I drove myself down there, I was not drinking. I went out, had a few beers and I did not drive home. My people met me after that.”
In the videos, which were posted on YouTube by someone who goes by the handle Adrain Soso, the mayor can been heard saying: “I’m not driving, I’m not driving.”
Peter Loewen, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto, said the mayor is receiving the high level of attention because of unresolved questions of an alleged video appearing to show Ford smoking crack cocaine.
Ford has denied he uses crack and said he can’t comment on a video that does not exist.
But once stories surfaced of a purported video, “the game changed for him,” said Loewen.
Loewen said Ford hasn’t yet given “a credible explanation” on the issue.
The result, Loewen says, is now people recognize there’s an audience if they can get video of Rob Ford doing anything that might raise eyebrows, giving them a reason to videotape the mayor wherever he goes.
Elmer said this is a unique situation where the alleged crack video central to controversy surrounding Ford is missing, so instead there is a “cacophony” of images, reports and blog posts all talking about the same kind of behaviour.
“It’s just kind of creating this whole economy of related images and stories and pictures,” Elmer said. “It’s unprecedented because it’s become an international story.”