An opposition group, which is actively campaigning against Madison Cawthorn (North Carolina freshman congressman), released Wednesday’s video. It showed Cawthorn naked and pointing his groin towards another person. American Muckrakers PAC published the video in its entirety, ahead of the May 17th primary.

The video, which had been passed to the group by a “former supporter” of Cawthorn, has since trended across social media with the hashtag “madisoncawthornvideo.”

Video appears to have the 26-year old freshman congressman screaming as he presses his pelvis on an unidentified male. A second individual is suspected to have recorded the encounter using a smartphone. He could be heard telling Cawthorn that he should “stick it to his face” and laughing behind Cawthorn.

Rep. Cawthorn responded via Twitter to Wednesday night’s video (@CawthornforNC), “Another strike against me just fell.” This video was taken years ago by me and a friend. I tried to be humorous. The two of us were laughing and acting silly. That’s it. I’m NOT backing down. You were warned that there would be a drip campaign. The blackmail campaign will not win. We’ll.”

It is the latest scandal for Cawthorn who, for an incumbent congressman is currently facing a very crowded GOP primary. Last month several images of Cawthorn in women’s lingerie emerged online.

Career Ruining Moments?

Edwin Edwards (Democrat, Louisiana Governor) famously stated during a winning election campaign in 1983 that “The only thing I can lose is if I am caught in bed with either a deceased girl or a living boy.”

It was. LongBefore the advent of social media and smartphones, past actions and “deeds could be relived and haunt anybody.

According to Dr. Chris Haynes (associate professor of international affairs at the University of New Haven), “Today, social media and Internet can amplify a message such as this.”

Haynes cautioned that anything embarrassing can endanger a career, not only for politicians. Anyone with an iPhone is able to quickly capture something embarrassing or controversial and then send it out around the globe.

Cawthorn is certainly a hot topic, but he’s not the only one who has been criticized for his controversial statements and acts that have quickly made the rounds via social media.

Haynes thought, “This begs the deeper question of what we should expect from our politicians.” We want them perfect. “We also want them to stand out from others, but we don’t expect them to be authentic. That is an unrealistic standard.”

Social Media is Weaponizing the Past

Although it is not clear when Cawthorn and Cawthorn met, American Muckrakers PAC got the video. However, this isn’t necessarily the first instance of actions taken in the past …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer