Mamdani’s taxpayer-funded influencer army accused of plotting pressure campaign against NYC CEOs

Senior officials in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration are reportedly plotting a coordinated social media pressure campaign against some of the city’s most powerful business leaders, looking to mobilize a 200-plus influencer network run through City Hall.

Mamdani’s network of social media creators working for him first drew scrutiny earlier this month after the Columbia Journalism Review revealed that City Hall was communicating with more than 200 influencers through an encrypted Signal group called “NYC Creators Announcements.” Fox News Digital subsequently reported that members receive daily talking points, videos and other updates from the administration, while also being offered access to events and city officials.

Now, two sources briefed on the effort told the New York Post that senior City Hall aides have discussed mobilizing the influencer network against New York business executives, including leaders of the Partnership for New York City, an influential nonprofit representing the city’s business leaders and largest employers. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and Related Companies CEO Jeff Blau have also been floated as potential targets, according to the Post.

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The reported strategy centers on “blindsid[ing]” Partnership for New York City President and CEO Steven Fulop, who took over the organization earlier this year, with one source telling the Post that aides viewed the leadership transition as an opportunity to “go at CEOs.”

“They want to punch Fulop in the face,” the source told The Post.

Fulop, however, told Fox News that he personally spoke with Mamdani following the report and that the mayor, his communications director and political director all denied plans to target business executives. Fulop said the Partnership would take Mamdani “at his word” while remaining “vigilant and watchful,” but noted if he continued down this path there could be “huge repercussions in a bad way.” 

Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec, meanwhile, called the Post’s report “categorically false” and “a complete lie,” though the Post reported that she declined to identify specific inaccuracies in its account.

The Mamdani administration’s use of influencers and Signal had already drawn scrutiny before the latest report this week from the New York Post.

Reinvent Albany, a government watchdog focused on transparency and accountability, has said it supports city agencies using paid social media influencers to promote government programs, but opposes city officials using instant-messaging apps such as Signal for official communications.

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In testimony before the New York City Council earlier this month, the group warned that the city still lacks a practical way for agency Freedom of Information Law officers to archive or retrieve official records created on apps such as Signal.

“Even now, in 2026, the City of New York has not developed a practical way for official records created by these apps to be archived or retrieved by agency FOIL officers,” Reinvent Albany testified.

The watchdog has called for legislation clarifying that electronic and instant messages constituting public records must be preserved and easily retrievable, while also proposing disclosure requirements for influencers paid to promote city messaging.

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The alleged effort to go after NYC’s CEOs comes as Mamdani continues to push for higher taxes on wealthy New Yorkers and corporations to fund his agenda and address the city’s budget challenges.

Mamdani called earlier this year for a 2% personal income tax increase on New Yorkers earning $1 million or more, alongside an increase in the corporate tax rate. While those proposals did not make it into this year’s budget, Mamdani has continued to publicly back both.

“I’ve been very open and honest about my vision, whether it be fast and free buses or whether it be higher personal income taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers or the most profitable corporations,” Mamdani said in May.

The mayor did secure a new pied-à-terre tax on luxury second homes owned by non-city residents, which his administration projects will generate roughly $500 million annually. The measure suffered a legal setback Tuesday, however, when a Staten Island judge ordered the administration to scrap its initial rollout and restart the process after finding the city failed to follow required procedures before sending tax notices. The ruling did not strike down the tax itself, and Mamdani’s administration vowed to continue fighting for the surcharge.

Matt Rauschenbach, a Mamdani spokesman, defended the surcharge as a “basic principle of fairness,” arguing that owners of luxury second homes should contribute toward the city services they benefit from.