As you have probably heard by now, Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, was recently captured on video smoking crack cocaine, and the shocking video could make its way to the Internet if Gawker is able to get its hands on it.

Using the website indiegogo.com, the folks over at Gawker have kicked off what they’re calling a “crackstarter” campaign — a play on words, in reference to the popular crowd-funding platform KickStarter.

The heading at the top of the campaign’s page on indiegogo reads: “Rob Ford Crackstarter — Please help us raise enough money to purchase and publish a video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine.”

So far, as of Saturday night (May 18), the campaign has raised nearly $70,000 of its $200,000 goal, with 9 days left. If Gawker is able to successfully raise the $200,000 the owner of the cell phone video footage is willing to let it go for, the world will be able to watch Toronto’s “conservative” mayor smoking crack cocaine.

In the meantime, when asked to comment on the scandal, Ford told a group of reporters that gathered outside his home early Friday morning (May 17) — just hours after the story broke on Gawker and subsequently The Toronto Star — that the “allegations are absolutely not true.”

Ford added before getting into his Cadillac Escalade, CBC News Toronto reported, “It’s ridiculous, it’s another Toronto Star whatever.”

Later Friday, as Ford was leaving his downtown Toronto office, he gave another brief statement to reporters:

“Anyways, like I said this morning, these allegations are ridiculous, it’s another story with respect to the Toronto Star going after me,” Ford said. “And that’s all I’ve got to say for now.”

It’s worth noting that Ford never outright DENIES the allegations. He simply says that they’re “ridiculous,” and he’s right, the allegations are “ridiculous.”

It’s ridiculous that the mayor of one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the world has been recorded on video smoking crack cocaine, and it’s even more ridiculous that we’ll all be watching said video footage it any day now.

Gotta love that “new media.”

Click here if you would like to contribute to Gawker’s crackstarter!

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