Mamdani's City Hall Pays Influencers $5,000 To $20,000 A Campaign
Tow Center researchers tied 189 creators to a Signal group that City Hall aide Emilia Rowland runs for the mayor.
- The Signal group, NYC Creators Announcements, grew out of Creators4Zohran, the 2025 campaign chat.
- NYC Health + Hospitals recruited 24 micro-influencers reaching 12 million combined followers for Test and Trace.
- New York's Campaign Finance Board says $50,000 in ad budget buys about ten influencers.
Why it matters: A government paying for opinion that looks organic is manufacturing the consensus it later claims to reflect.
Columbia Journalism Review / Tow Center for Digital Journalism report ↗ · Sep 3, 20269/3/26