The money raised by the website Gawker to purchase a video that allegedly showed Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine has been split between four drug-related charities based in Canada, the Toronto Star reported Thursday.
In May, Gawker raised $201,254 from 8,388 donors in just eleven days to pay for the video, but less than a month later its owner announced the footage was “gone.” The man who showed reporters the alleged video was jailed shortly after, according to the Toronto Star.
After $16,416 in processing fees, Gawker donated $46,000 to each of the four charities, the Star reported.
The Somali-Canadian Association of Etobicoke will put their check towards a new program to help keep Somali youth out of Toronto gangs, and the other three charities (South Riverdale Community Health Centre, Unison Health and Community Services and the Ontario Regional Addictions Partnership Committee) plan to spend the money on various substance abuse initiatives, according to the Star.
