Mamdani's bot army: Suspicion of an influence operation at the expense of the New York City Mayor's Office

A Jerusalem Post investigation: Dozens of accounts suspected of being bots on the X network are boosting exposure to content published by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his associates. According to a report, they can be traced back to the IP address infrastructure of the New York City Mayor's Office — this was stated exclusively by the World Zionist Organization.

As part of the activities of the Department for Combating Antisemitism of the World Zionist Organization against waves of antisemitism online, data and findings collected by cyber experts specializing in the field were presented to the department. The information included an analysis of IP addresses and mapping of activity patterns and distribution networks of accounts suspected of being bots.

Technological verification

The technological check conducted by the World Zionist Organization regarding activity on the X network points to dozens, and perhaps even hundreds, of accounts with anomalous characteristics.

The Jerusalem Post independently contacted the cyber experts involved in the check. According to them, they are "100 percent sure" that the IP addresses can be traced to the New York City Mayor's Office, although no evidence was presented proving who controlled the accounts or if officials in the Mayor's Office directed their activity.

In the check of activity on the social network X, a broad group of accounts was identified that displayed anomalous and surprisingly similar activity patterns: hundreds of tweets and retweets per day, an exceptionally high rate of retweets, accounts opened recently, or accounts with almost no personal activity.

The research team of the World Zionist Organization estimated that there are hundreds of accounts suspected of being bots, and that additional accounts appear every day. The main common denominator between the accounts is their consistent tendency to boost exposure to content originating from the official account of New York City Mayor Mamdani, municipal accounts, and accounts of political allies and officials identified with him.

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A self-feeding cycle

According to the observed pattern, the New York City Mayor's account and municipal accounts are often used as starting points for boosting exposure. A post is published in a central account, and then quickly retweeted by many accounts with anomalous characteristics. In some of the accounts checked, the retweet rate of content on behalf of the New York City Mayor reached 98% to 100%.

According to the analysts, this creates a self-feeding cycle: the initial accounts generate volume of activity; the volume leads to algorithmic exposure; the increased exposure brings reactions from real users; and the engagement of real users further expands the distribution.

The result is an increase of hundreds of percent in exposure, and potentially millions of views — not necessarily because millions of people independently became interested in the original post, but because an anomalous boosting system gave it an initial push.

Call for intervention

Following the findings, the World Zionist Organization announced that it would contact Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism, and ask him to transfer the findings to American law enforcement authorities for the purpose of checking and investigating the suspicion of coordinated online activity.

"There is a need for a thorough, professional, and independent investigation of these actions to boost hatred," said Ifat Ovadia-Luski, head of the Department for Combating Antisemitism at the World Zionist Organization. "Modern-day antisemitism starts online and then moves to the streets, and the spread of hatred on social networks is a key factor driving this incitement. This is a well-oiled influence machine, designed to shape the international arena, and it makes Jews feel less safe in New York City and throughout the United States."

Mark Goldfeder, CEO and Director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC), told The Jerusalem Post that the organization is referring the matter to the investigations department and the conflicts of interest committee. The organization also demands to receive the server logs of the New York City Mayor's Office. "City employees are not allowed to use public resources for political messages, and elected officials are not allowed to mislead the public they serve," he stated.