Watchdog Seeks Probe of Mamdani Team’s Signal Use

A watchdog group has asked New York City’s Conflicts of Interest Board to investigate Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration over staff communications with social-media influencers through Signal, alleging ethics violations and failures to preserve public records. The complaint also alleges taxpayer money funded the influencer effort, claims that have not been substantiated by spending records in the material reviewed. Democracy Restored, a Texas-based watchdog, submitted a letter to the board dated October 2. It points to an August report stating that Emilia Rowland, the administration’s director of New Media and Cultural Communications, created an official Signal account and invited a selected group of influencers. The complaint says the chat relayed talking points to more than 200 people. The watchdog argues that Signal’s disappearing-message feature could prevent communications from being retained as public records under New York’s Freedom of Information Law. It also says the administration has not provided an accounting of spending on the outreach.