Inside Mamdani’s Private Army of Public Influencers
New York Times · LC · trust 47/100
Zohran Mamdani is seen as a social media wizard. Some of his popularity stems from an influencer operation run by the mayor’s office.
Zohran Mamdani is seen as a social media wizard. Some of his popularity stems from an influencer operation run by the mayor’s office.
On the morning of March 25, a flood of posts that struck a remarkably similar tone began popping up on scattered social media sites.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani had just decided to cancel a $9 million contract that New York City had with the consulting giant McKinsey, and gushing praise came pouring in from commentators, operatives on the left and even some comedians.
Alex Jacquez, who works at a progressive think tank, posted on X: “Really exciting that NYC is generating operational efficiencies by in-sourcing needlessly outsourced public services and functions, building city capacity. More of this!”
Akilah Hughes, a comedian with more than 200,000 followers on X, reposted a comment suggesting that Mr. Mamdani was an improvement over his predecessor, Eric Adams, who “paid McKinsey $1.6 million to research trash cans.”
Matt Stoller, a political commentator with more than 160,000 followers on X, wrote effusively that the mayor “just cut a $9 million contract that McKinsey has with NYC. And then brags about it publicly. More please.”
The online adulation may have looked organic. But it was actually part of a campaign orchestrated by City Hall to use social media influencers to boost the image of the mayor and his young administration’s policies.
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