They’re under Zo’s influence.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani assembled an army of nearly 200 “influencers,” giving the social media stars VIP access to push the lefty administration’s talking points, a new bombshell report revealed.
The web of online personalities are being fed talking points by City Hall through an encrypted Signal group text, potentially running afoul of local record-keeping laws, according to the study by the Columbia Journalism Review.
Some influencers are even pocketing taxpayer funds “for work on particular messaging campaigns,” though not for their coverage, the report states.
The official Mamdani cheerleaders chat spawned from Creators4Zohran, a motley crew of influencers convened during his social media-savvy mayoral campaign last year, according to the report.
“A group of content creators and influencers, the Creators4Zohran group that supported his election campaign was reconfigured to promote coverage and talking points from the Mayor’s office,” the report reads.
“The group is run by the Director of New Media and Cultural Communications at the NYC Office of the Mayor, Emilia Rowland, and her staff, and members of the group receive daily updates, talking points and clips that they can use in their posts.”
How much influencers were paid, or if at all, was unclear.
Political insiders who have worked with their ilk have told The Post that influencers don’t work for free if involved in specific campaigns, like pushes for vaccinations or public service announcements.
Influencers would eventually look for some sort of compensation for carrying the mayor’s water, insiders said.
One influencer highlighted by Creators4Zohran, Allie O’Brien, recently said Mamdani was the “mayor of uncontrollable joy” in a worshipping social post.
O’Brien, though, appears to live in Connecticut from online records.
Another out-of-NYC influencer, who goes by the handle bananadotgov on Instagram, is from Columbus, Ohio, and has posted a number of lionizing videos about Mamdani.
“Strange things are happening, because I have literally not felt this way about a politician since Bernie Sanders,” she said, responding to the mayor saying he wouldn’t take a pay raise in July.
It was unclear if these two were on the group text, but they are often featured on the Creators4Zohran page.
The use of Signal prompted controversy during former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration when it was revealed his aides were using the encrypted text app, which can be set to delete messages.
City Hall officials are required by law to keep records, including messages, related to government business to give the public and watchdogs a necessary window into how decisions are made.
When asked about concerns the encrypted Signal chat violates the city’s record retention laws, Mamdani first deflected by arguing that tapping influencers is no different than engaging with radio, TV and other media to spread information.
He then broadly acknowledged the need to follow the law.
“My administration will always strive to fully provide all legal requirements, including those that relate to the presentation of city records,” he said Wednesday.
“If there are any departures from what is legally required, my administration will look into it immediately and take corrective action.”
City Hall officials directed The Post toward Mamdani’s comments and refused to answer specific questions.
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