At a New York City Council hearing, frustration grew as Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s representatives were unable to answer questions about the mayor’s use of influencers. Tascha Van Auken, commissioner of the Office of Mass Engagement, told the council her office does not work with influencers. The hearing scrutinized the Mamdani administration’s use of influencers and communication methods, following reporting from the Columbia Journalism Review and The New York Times that detailed how the mayor’s office cultivated an army of over 250 influencers via a private Signal chat.

Council members, including minority leader David Carr and Democratic councilman Phil Wong, pressed for details on influencer compensation, disclosure rules, and the use of encrypted messaging. Emilia Rowland, director of new media and cultural communications who oversees the influencer effort, did not testify. Shawnta Smith-Cruz, commissioner of the Department of Records and Information Services, explained city workers can use Signal for transitory messages but must move substantive content to retainable platforms.

Despite Ramzi Kassem, the mayor’s chief counsel, issuing a January memo banning work use of Signal, the app was used until a Times inquiry prompted message preservation. Mamdani expressed confidence in his administration’s testimony, but council members remained unconvinced, with even public advocate Jumaane Williams expressing frustration.