On Election Day in New York City, just hours before voters would finish casting ballots, Zohran Mamdani stepped into a packed room filled with dozens of local content creators. The atmosphere was buzzing, and the questions came quickly. Topics ranged from housing affordability to childcare to LGBTQ protections. Mamdani responded with ease, consistently returning to two central themes of his campaign: lowering the cost of living in New York City and motivating people to participate in the democratic process by turning out to vote.
Mamdani’s political presence is nearly impossible to ignore online, thanks largely to the very same influencers in that room. Many of them later gathered alongside him at his campaign’s victory party in Brooklyn, celebrating with phones raised, capturing every moment. His short-form videos have collected tens of millions of views, while creators circulating his message have reached hundreds of millions on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, and more. His success has often been described as a product of social media alone. Some commentators have even suggested that platforms like TikTok directly fueled his win. When former governor Andrew Cuomo reflected on his own unsuccessful campaign, he said plainly, “I did not do enough on social media.”
But political strategists and content creators involved in Mamdani’s operation warn that his digital performance is not as easily repeatable as it may seem. Some Democrats, they argue, are drawing the wrong lessons. Hasan Piker, a well-known progressive Twitch personality who has supported Mamdani, joked online that the upcoming election cycle will be full of politicians trying (and failing) to imitate Mamdani’s tone and style. What many do not understand, Piker hinted, is that the substance, authenticity, and message are inseparable from the online format.
Adam Faze, the founder of the production studio Gymnasium, echoed this concern. He predicts that campaigns across the country will now attempt to generate viral content as if that alone guarantees victory. Faze compared the situation to the first televised presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, suggesting that future campaigns will be shaped by how candidates perform on visual-first platforms like TikTok and YouTube. Yet, Faze argued, politicians who treat social media presence as a branding exercise rather than a reflection of their values will struggle to make meaningful connections.
Several Democrats have already begun shifting tactics. California Governor Gavin Newsom met privately with major livestreamers at TwitchCon. Congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti has adopted a video style similar to Mamdani's. Even the Democratic National Committee has launched daily video segments. However, many of these efforts appear calculated, curated, and disconnected from the grassroots organizing that Mamdani emphasized. Influencer marketing veteran Brendan Gahan described this approach as “trying to manufacture authenticity,” a strategy that rarely resonates with online audiences who are extremely skilled at detecting insincerity.
The creators who supported Mamdani insist that they did so not because he was trendy, but because his proposals aligned with their lives. “The videos are just the container,” said Christian Divyne, a Brooklyn-based artist and content creator. “The policies are the fuel.” Those policies include rent freezes, free public bus service, government-supported grocery stores to reduce food insecurity, and universal childcare. Mamdani’s platform directly addressed financial pressures many working New Yorkers experience daily.
Many creators also went beyond simply sharing posts: they canvassed, phone-banked, and volunteered. Members of "Creators for Zohran" describe themselves as artists, teachers, musicians, and workers, rather than professional influencers. Queens-based music producer Taiwan Green compared Mamdani’s transparency and empathy to that of Bernie Sanders, saying that Mamdani spoke to him as a neighbor rather than an online “brand partnership.”
For others, Mamdani’s influence extends to education policy, public transit, and neighborhood-level quality of life. Manhattan creator Matt Bernstein pointed out that the viral videos are only effective because they are supported by detailed, thought-out proposals. High school teacher Sari Beth Rose used her platform to advocate for Mamdani because she saw his ideas directly addressing the stressors students and families face.
Mamdani’s digital message also stood in sharp contrast to Cuomo’s controversial AI-generated ads, one of which depicted surreal and insensitive imagery and was widely criticized before being taken down. While Cuomo’s videos felt artificial and disconnected, Mamdani’s supporters say his success came from people choosing to make content about him, not being instructed or paid to do so.
Film and media creator Adam Faze summed it up by saying that Mamdani had become a “vessel for virality.” Wherever he appeared, supporters wanted to capture the moment and share it. The momentum resembled the fandom around livestreamers like iShowSpeed, where the enthusiasm of the crowd generates endless content that circulates on its own.
Candidates who share Mamdani’s message of affordability and anti-establishment change are beginning to see similar success, including Graham Platner in Maine and New York City councilman Chi Ossé. Their campaigns also pair strong social media strategies with grassroots community outreach and economic reform proposals.
As Mamdani addressed supporters inside the Brooklyn Paramount, content creators across New York posted celebratory videos in real time. Many said they felt something rare: political hope. “The Democratic Party has not given young people much to be excited about for a long time,” said Aidan Kohn-Murphy, co-founder of Creators for Zohran. “Zohran is showing us a new playbook.”
