Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration is coordinating with roughly 200 social media influencers through an encrypted Signal group chat, feeding them talking points and video clips to promote city programs, according to a report from the Columbia Journalism Review.
The group, called “NYC Creators Announcements,” grew out of Creators4Zohran, a network of online supporters who backed Mamdani’s 2025 campaign. Mamdani made history in that race as the first socialist elected mayor of the nation’s largest city.
Because Signal offers a disappearing-messages feature that can delete texts automatically after a set time, the report raises questions about whether the administration’s use of the app complies with city record-keeping requirements. It is not clear whether that feature is turned on in the group.
Asked by reporters whether using Signal might violate city law, Mamdani said, “My administration will always strive to fully comply with all legal requirements, including those that relate to the preservation of city records.”
“If there are any departures from what is legally required, my administration will look into it immediately and take corrective action,” he added on Wednesday.
Government use of Signal drew national scrutiny last year after then-Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced criticism when sensitive details about U.S. military strikes were shared in a Signal group that included a journalist.
How the chat works
The Signal group functions much like a press list, with Emilia Rowland, the city’s director of new media and cultural communications, and her staff sending daily updates, talking points and clips for influencers to use in their own posts.
According to the Columbia Journalism Review, influencers are not paid by the city directly for taking part in the group or for their coverage. Some do receive payments from marketing and advertising firms that hold contracts with city agencies for specific messaging campaigns. City employees told researchers those payments ranged from $5,000 to $20,000 per campaign.
The programs promoted through the network include voting, healthcare, immigration, tenants’ rights, participatory budgeting and composting initiatives.
Mamdani defended the outreach strategy, saying it reflects how New Yorkers consume information today.
“New Yorkers get their news in a wide variety of ways, and it is our responsibility to ensure that we communicate information from city government directly to the people of the city, whether that means to all of you, to TV, to radio, to social media, to content creators and so on and so forth,” Mamdani said.
Fox News Digital said it reached out to City Hall for comment but had not received a response at the time of its report.
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