New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration has assembled a network of more than 200 social media influencers who receive City Hall talking points, video clips and access to government officials as part of an effort to promote city programs online.

A forthcoming report from Columbia Journalism School’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism and the Initiative for Policy Dialogue identified 189 influencers with ties to the administration and examined a private Signal group called “NYC Creators Announcements.”

Members told researchers the group has grown to include more than 200 creators.

The network grew out of Creators4Zohran, an organization that supported Mamdani during his mayoral campaign, but has since evolved into a communications channel between City Hall and independent online creators.

The Signal group is now administered by Emilia Rowland, City Hall’s director of new media and cultural communications.

Talking Points, Clips and Access

According to the report, the group operates similarly to a traditional press list maintained by a government communications office.

Participating creators receive daily updates from the administration, official talking points and video clips that can be used in their content. Members are also invited to events and given opportunities to interview city officials.

The influencers are not paid by City Hall simply for belonging to the group or distributing the information they receive.

Some participants said they view their involvement as a form of public service rather than political advocacy.

“The majority of us don’t want to just be associated with Zohran,” Instagram influencer Jose Vilson told the outlet. “We want to ask good questions because we care about the city.”

The network nevertheless represents an unusually organized effort by the administration to reach New Yorkers through social media personalities rather than relying exclusively on traditional news organizations or City Hall’s own accounts.

Influencers Can Receive Thousands for Separate City Campaigns

While creators are not compensated for participating in “NYC Creators Announcements,” New York City agencies separately spend public money hiring influencers for specific promotional campaigns.

The report found that agencies have used creators to promote government initiatives for voting, healthcare, immigration, tenants’ rights, participatory budgeting and composting.

City employees told researchers that influencers hired for those campaigns can receive between $5,000 and $20,000 per campaign.

Those payments are made through marketing and advertising firms contracted by city agencies rather than through the private Signal group itself.