A leaked S&M video won’t keep Zack Weiner out of politics – and nor should it | Arwa Mahdawi

Just like this would-be New York councillor, many young people document every intimate aspect of their lives. Some of that footage will inevitably become public

You have to be something of a masochist to want to get into politics - and Zack Weiner is an unapologetic masochist. Last week, the 26-year-old, who is running for a place on the city council in New York, was something of a nonentity: he had zero name recognition and his campaign had raised just over $10,000 (7,200), most of which he had donated himself.

Perhaps the most notable thing about Weiner was the fact his dad is the co-creator of the kids' TV show Dora the Explorer. But that changed when a video of a man engaged in consensual sadomasochism was posted on Twitter by an anonymous account that claimed the man was Weiner. On Saturday, the New York Post ran a story about the video, complete with salacious screengrab. Pretty soon it made international headlines.