In a story published earlier this week, a site called “NYC Journals” claimed to have a bombshell: that Instagram had suspended the account of New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for being “too socialist.”
The story claimed that Mamdani’s account was down for three hours; it also cited a “leaked memo” from inside Instagram that said his content went against US national interests. The article is surprisingly detailed — it includes quotes attributed to Mamdani himself, as well as a “political communications expert” lamenting the control tech platforms have over political discourse. It would be a huge story in a race that’s already been surprising and contentious.
The problem, of course, is that it’s not true.
The article has been posted to social media platforms like Bluesky, Reddit, Mastodon, and X, racking up reposts, likes, and comments. But Meta spokesperson Ryan Daniels confirmed that there’s no such memo or restrictions on Mamdani’s account. Mamdani campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec confirmed to The Verge that the article, the statement attributed to Mamdani, and the account suspension are all fake.
NYC Journals’ website doesn’t have many details about the outlet, and the fake story is attributed to a general “NYC Journals Staff” byline. Elsewhere on the site it claims that its information is “corroborated with a myriad of sources and fact checked thoroughly.” It’s not clear where or how the story began to spread, but it’s been picked up by a handful of other fly-by-night websites that pop up suddenly and disappear just as fast. NYC Journals did not list a way to contact the site for comment.
Though Mamdani is running in a local election, his candidacy has drawn national attention. After Mamdani became the presumptive Democratic nominee in June, Donald Trump seemed to endorse false claims that Mamdani was in the US “illegally.” Other Republicans have called for Mamdani to be deported. Mamdani is a naturalized US citizen. This isn’t the first false story that’s circulated during the race for mayor — and likely won’t be the last.