US influencers falsely link New York’s mayor-elect Mamdani to ISIS
US right-wing influencers have falsely linked New York’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to the Islamic State (ISIS), spreading a fabricated statement that has garnered millions of views across social media, researchers revealed on Thursday. Mamdani, the first Muslim and South Asian elected to lead America’s largest city, won decisively this week despite a wave of attacks on his policies and religious background. Anti-Mamdani accounts on X (formerly Twitter) circulated a fake statement supposedly from ISIS, titled “Operation Manhattan Project,” which threatened an attack in New York City on Election Day in retaliation for “American aggression.” Among those amplifying the false claim was conservative influencer Laura Loomer, who has close ties to former President Donald Trump.“The Muslims can’t think of a better way to celebrate the victory of a Muslim mayoral candidate today than by committing an ISIS attack in NYC,” Loomer […]