Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s McKinsey Cancellation Sparks Coordinated Influencer Praise
Mayor Zohran Mamdani ended a $9 million McKinsey contract and a flood of influencers posted nearly identical praise, later linked to a city-issued script.
In March, New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, terminated a $9 million deal with consulting firm McKinsey. Within hours, comedians, parenting bloggers and other online personalities shared remarkably similar commendations. An internal memo from the mayor’s new-media director provided a talking-point sheet contrasting the saved funds with spending by Eric Adams. Some of the praising accounts had received the memo, while at least one echoed the language without it.
Why it matters
It reveals how city officials can orchestrate influencer campaigns to manufacture support for policy choices.
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