Lynched: The Media War against Rob Ford

Several books on Rob Ford have already been published. Though we should not judge their authors' intentions, even a brief look at them tells us that they have been written from the point of the media and political elites that have little interest in assessing Ford's work objectively and going beyond the overblown problems in his personal life. The intention of this book is to fill the vacuum and tell Rob Ford's story as it is. So far the real role of the media in spreading and even generating most "controversies" in his political career had received little attention. Very few politicians in the history of Canada have been the target of such vicious and continuous campaign of destruction, organized by the media and special interest groups. The attacks started long before any of his personal problems emerged. The lack of any sympathetic coverage about a man, who has dedicated his life to serving the taxpayers, is disturbing. Canada is described routinely as being one of the most polite and tolerant countries in the world, yet the "progressive" media here can easily destroy a person with the "wrong" political views. This is not just about Rob Ford - this is about exposing the ability of the media to belittle and ruin a person, any person. What we can learn from that campaign, which continued for years, is that its mechanism and results served as a blueprint of similar attacks directed against other politicians. The blueprint was subsequently applied in demonizing the Conservative Party of Canada and Prime Minister Stephen Harper during the election campaign in 2015. We can observe something similar (though on a larger scale) in the USA. The vicious battle against conservative politicians involved in the presidential race, especially Donald Trump, has reached unmatched proportions. And while in the USA the conservative media still have a sizeable share of the market, in Canada the social "progressivism" has a virtual monopoly over the mainstream media. What is happening here could serve as a warning to our neighbors south of the border - things may gradually deteriorate to the point where ordinary people and the politicians who defend their interests may become voiceless. It takes extreme strength to withstand such pressure and on the surface it looks that Ford managed to handle the situation, though it ruined his health. It is important to tell the story of that media war, because the knowledge about how it works will help people disliked by the media and the elites assert their views. The book "Lynched: The Media War against Rob Ford" seeks to put things in the proper perspective. Based on extensive research of the media coverage, it identifies the forces and interests that clashed around the personality of Rob Ford. Each of those issues is covered in a separate chapter, though the unifying idea is to present how the media influenced the problems. Illustrated with numerous photographs.