How influential US right-wingers tried to link Mamdani to (IS)
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US right-wingers have falsely linked the newly elected mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, to the Islamic State (IS) group, spreading a fabricated statement that has been viewed millions of times on social media, researchers said on Thursday.Zohran has become the first Muslim and South Asian American to be elected mayor of New York, the largest city in the US, and secured a clear victory this week despite fierce attacks on his policy proposals and his religious background.On the platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter),
owned by billionaire Elon Musk, several anti-Zohran accounts have been circulating a statement purportedly by the Islamic State, titled ‘Operation Manhattan Project’. It hinted at an attack on New York City on Election Day.Among the influencers who linked the false statement to Zohran Mamdani was influential conservative leader Laura Loomer, who is known to be close to Trump.Loomer wrote in a post on the social media platform X, “Muslims can think of no better way to celebrate the victory of a Muslim mayoral candidate than to launch an ISIS (Islamic State) attack on New York City today.”Loomer’s post has received more than 200,000 views.Other conservative X accounts have falsely claimed, citing alleged statements from the extremist group, that it had endorsed Zohran for mayor. The X posts have collectively received millions of views.According to several researchers, including disinformation watchdog NewsGuard, the purported letter, bearing the logo of the jihadists’ Amaq news agency, was a complete fabrication.American University academic Meili Krizis told Watchdog that the alleged statement is not consistent with other statements published by Amaq.Krizis said that Amaq is used to share Islamic State news and claims of responsibility for attacks.
Amaq does not make any threats as shown in the screenshot.Another research institute, the Information Epidemiology Lab, also said that the language, style, formatting and delivery of the statement were completely different from IS “media”.The fabricated statement was likely first published on the far-right message board Fourchan, which is known for its conspiracy theories.Zohrab Mamdani, a longtime supporter of the Palestinians, himself became a victim of Islamophobia after the 9/11 attacks. In recent months, he has spoken out in support of the Palestinians, as well as strongly condemning anti-Semitism.
