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Rob Ford’s Official Tweets Vs. Reality: a day-by-day comparison of the last two weeks

Rob Ford’s Official Tweets Vs. Reality: a day-by-day comparison of the last two weeks

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In the two weeks since news broke that Rob Ford (allegedly) smokes crack, the mayor has lost his temper, nearly a third of his staff and any semblance of dignity. The mayor’s official Twitter account, however, has been operating in an alternate reality—one in which Ford’s dealing with nothing more pressing than some pesky gypsy moths. Below, we compare life in Fordlandia to what’s really been going on.

Day 1
Reality: On May 16, Gawker publishes an article about a video in which Rob Ford appears to be smoking crack and the Toronto Star follows hours later. By the next morning, the story has been picked up around the world.
Fordlandia:

Days 2, 3
Reality: Ford cancels his weekly radio show. Deputy mayor Doug Holyday says Ford should address the story in more depth.
Fordlandia: Twitter silence

Day 4
Reality: Gawker’s crowd-funded Crackstarter campaign begins gaining momentum. @TOMayorFOrd quietly begins following Gawker editor John Cook.
Fordlandia:

Day 5
Reality: Someone is shot at an apartment building on Dixon Road with some speculation that people looking for the video were responsible. Ford loses a major vote at council on casinos.
Fordlandia:

Day 6
Reality: In the cruelest cut yet, the Toronto Catholic District School Board tells Ford he’s no longer welcome as a volunteer football coach.
Fordlandia:

Day 7
Reality: Ford fires Mark Towhey, his chief of staff and a top adviser since the start of his election campaign, allegedly because Towhey wanted the mayor to go to rehab.
Fordlandia:

Day 8
Reality: Ford finally denies being a drug addict in a statement to media. He doesn’t take any questions and the presser utterly fails to end the scandal.
Fordlandia:

Day 9
Reality: The Globe and Mail publishes an exposé on the Ford family’s history with drugs. Doug Ford is accused of being a hash dealer in the 1980s.
Fordlandia: Twitter silence.

Day 10
Reality: The Ford brothers return to their radio show and say the crack video doesn’t exist. Rob calls reporters are “maggots” (for which he later apologizes).
Fordlandia:

Day 11
Reality: Mayor Ford’s communications staff members George Christopolous and Isaac Ransom both resign “on principle,” amid reports that Ford has stopped taking their advice.
@TOMayorFord: 

Day 12
Reality: Ford spends his 44th birthday chairing an executive committee meeting and listening to people yell about Israel and Palestine. Reports surface that his aide David Price knew the location of the video.
@TOMayorFord: 

Day 13
Reality: The Star reports that staff may have been ordered to destroy city documents that belonged to recently-departed staff, which Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner says is a no-no. Whoever is now behind the @TOMayorFord account debuts a new, more combative tone.
@TOMayorFord: 

Day 14
Reality: Reports suggest Ford knew the location of the video shortly after the story broke. Two more staff depart Ford’s office. Premier Kathleen Wynne says she’s “worried about the situation” and will intervene if appropriate.
Fordlandia:

Day 15 (Today)
Reality: Councillors Josh Matlow and Jaye Robinson tell CBC Radio Ford should step aside. The National Post goes to the apartment where the crack video was rumoured to be stashed, where a resident tells them Ford has been previously spotted around the neighbourhood.
Fordlandia:

(Images: screenshot from @TOMayorFord Twitter account; media, Don Peat)

Topics: City Hall cocaine David Price Doug Ford Doug Holyday Drugs Gawker Josh Matlow Kathleen Wynne Mark Towhey Rob Ford Rob Ford Crack Scandal Toronto Catholic District School Board Toronto politics Twitter

One thought on “Rob Ford’s Official Tweets Vs. Reality: a day-by-day comparison of the last two weeks”

  1. No mention of the infamous, now deleted, #respectfortaxpatyers tweet from Day 14?
    It read, in full:

    @TOMayorFord: ” I was elected to keep taxes low and reduce the size and cost of government- and that’s exactly what I’m doing. #RespectForTaxpatyers #TOpoli”

    Of course, Ford was certainly reducing the size and cost of government with the latest resignations/firings in the Mayor’s Office.

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