The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By Noel Young, Correspondent

May 24, 2013 | 4 min read

Will the video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford allegedly smoking crack cocaine ever see the light of day? That was the question last night as the fund started by website Gawker to buy and screen it stood at $166,886 USD (around $30,000 short of the target).

Earlier the mayor, who previously had only referred to the charges as "ridiculous"— read a statement to the press on live TV.

He made two claims in his TV remarks:

1) "I do not use crack cocaine."

2) "Nor am I an addict of crack cocaine."

Meantime Ford has fired his chief of staff chief of staff Mark Towhey. Multiple media reports on Friday cited sources saying this was because he’d urged Ford to enter a rehabilitation program for substance abuse issues.

As for Ford's TV denials, Gawker said neither was inconsistent with Rob Ford having been caught on tape smoking crack cocaine within the past six months.

"The fact that Rob Ford says he does not currently use crack cocaine has no bearing on his past behaviour," said the website.

He did not say, as one who has never smoked crack cocaine might say, "I have never smoked crack cocaine."

Gawker went on, "Since we know that Rob Ford used to smoke crack cocaine, and in fact most certainly did smoke crack cocaine at some point within the last six months, we can only interpret his statement claiming not to currently smoke crack cocaine as an announcement that he has decided to kick the habit."

As for his second statement: "No one here has accused him of being addicted to crack cocaine. As far as we are aware, the main point of controversy in Toronto has centered on that fact of his use of crack cocaine, not on whether that use was compulsive or recreational."

But what about the video? Here's what Ford—who does not smoke crack cocaine—had to say about that: "I can't comment on a video that I have never seen or does not exist."

An editor from Gawker and two reporters from the Toronto Star went public last week with the news that they'd seen cellphone footage of the mayor smoking what appeared to be crack cocaine. Publications around the Internet have been following the story .

Gawker, meanwhile, is trying to hitting its goal of the $200,000 it says it will take to buy the tape from the drug dealers who have it.

As of 11 yesterday morning—and with more than three days remaining until the deadline—readers had pledged more than $160,000 to the "Crackstarter" campaign on Indiegogo.

But Gawker pessimism is growing about whether its reporter will be able to make the handoff in the event it does raise the cash.

Gawker explained the problem in a post last night :

"As we mentioned when we launched the campaign, folks who are involved in the crack trade tend not to be the most reliable people in the world. We were initially made aware of the video by a tipster.

"We've been in relatively constant communication with the tipster since then. But he has told us that hasn't been able to make contact with the owner of the video in recent days. ... At this point, we have no idea why he is out of touch, or if he even knows about the Crackstarter campaign. He may have decided against selling the video. "

"He may be waiting until the campaign hits its $200,000 mark before coming out of hiding. We simply don't know."

Gawker has said people who promise cash only have to pony it up if the target is reached,. In the event they reach the $200,000 target but aren't able to make the purchase they will donate the cash to a Canadian nonprofit that addresses substance abuse issues.

At 4:08 p.m.on Friday, with the fate of the video now in question, Ford said at his press conference. "As for a video, I cannot comment on a video that I have not seen, or does not exist."