Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size.
The mayoral campaign for disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo posted then quickly deleted a racist AI-generated ad targeting Zohran Mamdani ahead of the final New York City mayoral debate on Wednesday.
The bizarre two-minute ad — released as campaigns make their final push before the election next month — takes aim at Mamdani’s public safety plans. It is riddled with anti-Black caricatures, racism, and misinformation about Mamdani’s platform, which includes establishing a department of community safety that would shift responsibilities like intervention in mental health crises away from police.
The ad features AI-generated “criminals” who support Mamdani because he would let them off without consequences if he were mayor — which is both a misrepresentation of Mamdani’s platform and simply not how the criminal legal system works.
The ad begins with an AI-generated Mamdani eating a bowl of rice with his hands, echoing a racist message from a Republican House representative earlier this year, who suggested that Mamdani was uncivilized after he posted a video in which he was eating with his hands.
In one segment, a computer-generated Black man is depicted putting on a KN95 and a keffiyeh, a Palestinian scarf, to shoplift from a store. In another, an AI-created Black man, who carries a cane and wears a fur coat, purple suit, and hat, is shown trafficking bloodied white women, who are supposed to be sex workers, in a van. The video also shows other people identified as “criminals,” including a “drug dealer” and a man at a pro-Palestine protest.
The video ends with an AI-generated Mamdani releasing the “criminals” from prison, and the city on fire.
The ad was quickly taken down by Cuomo’s campaign, but was reposted online by journalist Prem Thakker. It has been widely condemned for its racist depictions.
Watchdog group Common Cause New York said that the video may have violated state election law for not disclosing that it was AI-generated, per The New York Times. The group called the ad “offensive and a shocking attempt at fear-mongering.”
Cuomo campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said that the video “was posted in error” and that it “wasn’t done yet,” per the Times. Azzopardi further told AmNewYork that the video “did not go through the normal legal process” and that it was “inadvertently posted by a junior staffer.” It was only online for five minutes, he said.
Just the next morning, Cuomo spewed Islamophobic sentiments about Mamdani in an appearance on a conservative radio show. He asked the host, Sid Rosenberg, to “imagine Mamdani in that seat” if there were to be another attack like 9/11.
“He’d be cheering,” Rosenberg said.
Cuomo laughed, and said, “that’s another problem.”
Mamdani said Cuomo’s comments were “just disgusting.”
“This is Andrew Cuomo’s final moments in public life, and he’s choosing to spend them making racist attacks on the person who would be the first Muslim to lead this city,” Mamdani said in an interview with PIX 11 News.
“And frankly it’s not about me, it’s about the fact that there are more than 1 million Muslims who live in New York City. And to have our faith be smeared and slandered by someone who, at one point, was considered a leader in the Democratic Party, showcases the fact that bigotry and racism is not exclusively a Republican problem,” he said. “All Muslim New Yorkers want is to feel a sense of equality and respect that every New Yorker deserves, and even that is being denied by the former governor.”
Before you go — An urgent appeal for your support
Truthout relies on individual donations to publish independent journalism, free from political and corporate influence. In fact, we’re almost entirely funded by readers like you.
Unfortunately, donations are down. At a moment when our journalism is most necessary, we are struggling to meet our operational costs due to worsening political censorship.
Truthout may end this month in the red without additional help, so we’ve launched a fundraiser. We have 10 days to hit our $50,000 goal. Please make a tax-deductible gift to Truthout at this critical time!