{"id":157569,"date":"2026-03-09T07:21:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T07:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/157569\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T07:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T07:21:09","slug":"algorithmic-populism-in-nyc-how-zohran-mamdani-hacked-the-neoliberal-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/157569\/","title":{"rendered":"Algorithmic Populism in NYC: How Zohran Mamdani Hacked the Neoliberal Code"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Introduction: Beyond the Noise<\/p>\n

In the contemporary era of “algorithmic politics” the digital public sphere is frequently mischaracterized as the exclusive playground of the far-right. From Donald Trump\u2019s chaotic, attention-hacking social media performances to New York Mayor Eric Adams\u2019 media framed \u201cnightlife mayor\u201d persona, right-wing and neoliberal populism is indeed thriving. This is at least partically the result of what Maly defines as \u201cmetapolitics 2.0\u201d. \u201cMetapolitics 2.0\u201d, he argues, \u201cis the synchronization of metapolitics and web 2.0 ideology [\u2026] embedded in the mainstream digital media platforms\u201d (Maly, 2023, p. 10). This synchronization fuses ideological battles with digital practices that focus on privileging visibility and algorithmic uptake over deliberative policy debate. This form of politics often relies on overwhelming algorithms with emotional content that substitutes rational policy debate for identity-based outrage<\/a>\u00a0(Maly, 2025).\u00a0<\/p>\n

In this noisy landscape, the neoliberal status quo in New York City, represented by an administration marked by corruption scandals, rising rents and Trump’s authoritarian project has been succeeded. Not by a liberal democrat, but a socialist democrat. A new and distinct political signal is cutting through this status quo. Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist Assembly member and mayoral candidate, has managed to “hack” the neoliberal code. In theoretical terms, this is not merely a metaphor; it represents a specific application of what Maly defines as\u00a0algorithmic populism, where the politician strategically aligns their message with the affordances of online platforms to generate uptake\u00a0(Maly, 2018). Unlike the far-right\u2019s reliance on fear and exclusion for online messaging, Mamdani utilizes digital tools to serve a radically different political project. By seamlessly blending the aesthetics of Gen Z internet culture, including irony, memes, and vertical video formats, with a material policy focus on rent control and taxi medallion debt.<\/p>\n

This article argues that Mamdani utilizes\u00a0algorithmic populism and\u00a0hybrid media strategies not merely to gain visibility, but to engage in a profound\u00a0discursive struggle over the meaning of “affordability” in a neoliberal city. Following Norman Fairclough\u2019s framework, the analysis demonstrates how Mamdani attempts to challenge taken for granted “common sense” concepts regarding policing and affordability\u00a0(Fairclough, 1989, p. 84).\u00a0However, this analysis also critically examines the limits of such a strategy. While Mamdani successfully generates viral “uptake” this reliance on algorithmic logic raises pertinent questions about the\u00a0risks of “politainment” and whether digital momentum can be effectively translated into sustained institutional power without trivializing the socialist ideology it seeks to promote.<\/p>\n

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The Case: A Socialist in the Algorithms<\/p>\n

New York City, often described as the center of global finance, represents a challenging terrain for socialist politics. For decades, urban governance has been shaped by a neoliberal consensus that privileges real estate interests and punitive approaches to public order over social welfare. This hegemony was embodied by Mayor Eric Adams, whose administration can be analytically understood through Fairclough\u2019s notion of authoritarian populism, originally developed in relation to Thatcherism (Fairclough, 1989, pp. 177\u2013178). Adams\u2019 self-presentation as the \u201cnightlife mayor\u201d functioned as a media-oriented strategy that emphasized visibility and relatability while deflecting attention from persistent issues such as rising rents, austerity measures, and corruption scandals.<\/p>\n

Against this hegemonic and algorithmically structured political context, Zohran Mamdani represents a different political trajectory. As a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Mamdani has built his political capital not through traditional party machinery, but through direct action and digital mobilization. Known for his \u201cDesi\u201d heritage and his organizing work with the Taxi Workers Alliance, Mamdani frames his political identity around issues of class and economic justice, emphasizing the dignity of everyday New Yorkers. Operating within a hybrid media system in which older and newer media logics intersect (Chadwick, 2017), he makes use of platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to engage audiences beyond traditional channels of political communication.<\/p>\n

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Methodology\u00a0<\/p>\n

To examine this digital strategy, this research moves beyond simple observation to employ a qualitative framework combined with Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Instead of a broad digital ethnographic<\/a> approach, the study relies on a purposive sampling strategy to analyze specific communicative dimensions of Mamdani’s social media practices during the 2025 New York mayoral campaign. The analysis focuses on a selected set of digital content produced between August and November 2025. Specifically, the examination concentrates on four intersecting dimensions of these digital artifacts: the politician\u2019s lexical choices, such as how specific words like “safety” are deployed; the visual framing, including camera angles and clothing style; platform-specific affordances such as loops, vertical formatting, and algorithmic metrics; and finally, the audience uptake as evidenced by comments and engagement patterns.<\/p>\n

This multi-layered approach allows discourse to be analyzed not as isolated text, but as a dynamic interaction between the politician, the algorithm, and the public. Consequently, the central research question guiding this analysis is: How does Zohran Mamdani leverage the affordances of algorithmic populism to de-naturalize neoliberal concepts of “safety” and construct a counter-hegemonic socialist identity? To answer this, the analysis is interpreted through a specific theoretical framework. First, I draw on Ico Maly’s concept of algorithmic populism to analyze how Mamdani constructs ‘the people’ through algorithmic interaction (Maly, 2018). Second, I utilize Lempert and Silverstein’s notion of “message politics” to examine Mamdani’s style, stance, and persona as central components of his political messaging (Lempert & Silverstein, 2012). Finally, to understand the battle over concepts like “safety,” I employ Norman Fairclough’s framework of “ideology and common sense,” which allows us to reveal how power relations are linguistically naturalized (Fairclough, 1989).<\/p>\n

Data collection relied on a purposive sampling strategy to select three emblematic examples. These artifacts were not selected randomly; rather, they are considered emblematic because they condense broader communicative and ideological conflicts into key moments through which wider social and political meanings become visible (Blommaert, 2020). The selection was explicitly guided by two criteria. First, following Taina Bucher\u2019s (2012) argument that algorithms structure regimes of visibility, posts with higher engagement levels were prioritized for analyzing algorithmic populist communication in practice. Second, the selection focused on discursive relevance, choosing examples where specific ideological conflicts, such as the definition of “safety,” were most clearly visible and contested.<\/p>\n

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The “Cool” Socialist: Style as Ideological Message<\/p>\n

Approaching Mamdani\u2019s digital content through Lempert and Silverstein\u2019s notion of “message politics” allows us to see his style not merely as aesthetics, but as ideology-in-action. According to this framework, a politician\u2019s \u201cmessage\u201d is constituted through a multimodal assemblage of signs that make up their public persona, including clothing, speech, gesture and visual presentation (Lempert & Silverstein, 2012, pp. 26\u201327). This can for instance be seen in an Instagram Reel Mamdani posted in September 2025, parodying the anxieties of the Hamptons elite regarding his potential mayoralty\u00a0(see Figure 1).<\/p>\n

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Figure 1 – \u00a0https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DOI7jTADtT5\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the video, Mamdani wears relaxed formal attire rather than a fully polished suit and adopts a Gen Z\u2013coded communicative style while reading headlines about rich donors fearing his rise. The use of shifting camera angles, sudden framing changes and memetic visual elements such as the disembodied heads of his political opponents transforms the clip into a playful and platform native performance. This visual and performative style reflects common Gen Z social media practices, where meaning is often produced through informal performance, memetic formats and the playful use of news content. This serves a specific function: it signals a rejection of the “high style” associated with the neoliberal establishment embodied by figures like Eric Adams. His style functions as a political marker, producing proximity and familiarity rather than authority, and positioning him as part of the social groups he claims to represent. In this sense, style becomes the message, visually aligning him with working-class demographics rather than the aesthetics and norms of corporate elites.<\/p>\n

This performative and platform-native style is not merely an aesthetic choice, but is embedded in the broader communicative logic of social media platforms, which actively shape political expression and engagement. Mamdani\u2019s reliance on these platforms is not merely a tactical choice but reflects what Paolo Gerbaudo terms an\u00a0“elective affinity” between social media and populism. Gerbaudo argues that the architecture of social media favors direct communication, emotional intensity and a critical stance toward political elites, which aligns with the logic of populist politics\u00a0(Gerbaudo, 2018, p. 746). By bypassing traditional media gatekeepers, Mamdani constructs a clear opposition between \u201cthe people\u201d and \u201cthe elite,\u201d framing billionaires and establishment politicians as actors who seek to \u201csell\u201d political access and power. In contrast, \u201cthe people\u201d are positioned as ordinary New Yorkers struggling to afford their city and addressed directly through town halls and a cost of living agenda.<\/p>\n

Within this framework, digital performance functions as a weapon in a discursive battle for meaning over political power and representation. In the video, Mamdani articulates a class-based critique by portraying electoral politics as a process captured by elite interests, mocking his opponents\u2019 alliances with billionaires and framing unofficial debates as a \u201ctelevised circus.\u201d He explicitly distances himself from these establishment performances, stating that he will instead:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201ctake this campaign to you\u2026 bringing town halls directly to New Yorkers struggling to afford their city.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

By rejecting mediated political spectacles and foregrounding affordability as the central political concern, Mamdani linguistically redefines democratic legitimacy around proximity, material conditions, and direct engagement. This discursive move mirrors the strategy of manufactured intimacy also observed in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s social media communication<\/a> (Blommaert, 2019), where authenticity is constructed through contrast with institutionalized political rituals. Within this framework, the algorithm facilitates the aggregation of users who recognize themselves in this class-based framing, forming a political constituency grounded not in aesthetic appeal alone, but in shared interpretations of economic injustice. In this sense, Mamdani\u2019s message does not merely seek visibility, but actively organizes political meaning in ways that translate affective engagement into collective identification.<\/p>\n

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The Battle for Meaning: Redefining “Safety” as Affordability<\/p>\n

To understand the clash over \u201csafety\u201d in the 2025 election, we can draw on Fairclough\u2019s view of discourse as a site of ideological struggle, in which power operates through the definition of \u201ccommon sense\u201d (Fairclough, 1989, pp. 84\u201386). The discursive struggle became most visible during Mamdani\u2019s confrontations with mainstream media narratives.<\/p>\n

A key “emblematic example” is his interview on CNN, where he was pressed on the issue of “public safety” a concept traditionally monopolized by the right-wing as a synonym for policing and incarceration\u00a0(see Figure 2).<\/p>\n

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Figure 2 – Mamdani\u2019s CNN Interview – https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hecdpm35K4Q<\/p>\n

A key emblematic example is his interview on CNN. When the anchor Erin Burnett pressed him on whether his socialist critique contradicts the ‘American Dream’ of capitalism and wealth accumulation, asking “Do you think that’s not part of the American dream?”, Mamdani reframed the issue entirely. Instead of engaging in an abstract ideological debate, he pivoted to the material reality of the working class, stating: “Many New Yorkers… are working [hard] and then still feeling like they haven’t made enough money to keep living in the city they call home.” By redefining the dream not as wealth but as the ability to afford one’s city, Mamdani de-naturalizes the neoliberal order. He reframes the primary threat to a New Yorker’s life not as the lack of wealth, but as the structural violence of being priced out of one’s own home.<\/p>\n

“You cannot have a safe city if people cannot afford to live in it.”<\/p>\n

This rhetorical move aligns with what Fairclough describes as an ideological struggle over meaning, in which dominant definitions are rendered natural and taken for granted through processes of naturalization (Fairclough, 1989, p. 84). By redefining safety in terms of affordability and housing stability, Mamdani de-naturalizes the neoliberal order and reframes the primary threat to a New Yorker\u2019s safety not as street crime alone, but as the structural violence of eviction and poverty. This intervention moves beyond slogan-based politics and targets the interpretative procedures through which social reality is understood, thereby challenging common-sense assumptions that function in the service of sustaining existing power relations (Fairclough, 1989, p. 84).<\/p>\n

This challenge to dominant meaning provoked an immediate backlash from far-right actors, producing a visible antagonistic confrontation that Mamdani strategically leveraged. This dynamic is illustrated in a widely circulated video recorded in Staten Island, in which Mamdani was physically ambushed by Trump supporters (see Figure 3).<\/p>\n

Figure 3 – Video of Mamdani being ambushed by Trump supporters:\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/tXqXUcBFRHA?si=jZXjBXHFWmn2dje6<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the footage, opponents shout slogans like\u00a0“You are a communist” and\u00a0“Go back to where you came from”, illustrating the polarization of the electorate. Furthermore, these antagonistic encounters extend into the comment sections of the circulated videos, where supporters and opponents engage in discursive confrontation. Hostile comments seek to delegitimize Mamdani by framing him as extremist or un-American, while supportive responses reinterpret the harassment as evidence of far-right hostility toward redistributive politics.<\/p>\n

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Figure 4 – https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DNUTN3EO5rL\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Figure 5 – https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DNUTN3EO5rL\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Through the lens of algorithmic populism (Maly, 2018), this demonstrates how\u00a0negative uptake is repurposed to fuel\u00a0algorithmic populism. By showcasing the aggression of the far-right, Mamdani visualizes the “enemy” thereby solidifying the loyalty of his own progressive base. As noted in the analysis of “Trump\u2019s divine power”\u00a0(Maly, 2025), right-wing populism relies on fear to define safety. Mamdani counters this not with abstract idealism, but with\u00a0materialist rationality: rationalizing that a roof over one\u2019s head is the foundational unit of public safety. Through this discursive shift, he makes democratic socialism appear not as a radical disruption, but as the only logical path to a stable society.<\/p>\n

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From Viral to Victorious: Hybrid Mobilization<\/p>\n

The ultimate test of Mamdani\u2019s strategy was whether high engagement metrics (likes and views) could translate into tangible electoral votes. This decisive primary victory can be seen as indicating that this translation occurred and supports Andrew Chadwick\u2019s conceptualization of the hybrid media system.Chadwick argues that political power is shaped within a media environment characterized by interactions and interdependencies between older media logics, such as television and newspapers and newer digital media logics\u00a0such as social media platforms. (Chadwick, 2017, pp. 4\u20135)<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s campaign did not treat these spheres as separate. The “digital” energy was rigorously funneled into “analog” mobilization. Viral TikToks ended with calls to action for door to door canvassing, and mainstream TV appearances were clipped to generate new waves of digital content. This feedback loop culminated in his victory speech, which serves as our final emblematic artifact\u00a0(see Figure 6).<\/p>\n

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Figure 6 – Mamdani\u2019s Victory Post https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DQrrenCDtrg\/?igsh=ZGZpanBkYjFidWts<\/p>\n

Visually, the speech marked a departure from the “singular leader” aesthetic typical of neoliberal politicians. Mamdani stood not at a podium above the crowd, but immersed within it, surrounded by taxi drivers, tenants and DSA organizers.<\/p>\n

Discursively, this moment exemplifies what Jan Blommaert defines as\u00a0“vox populism.” Blommaert argues that the populist leader constructs legitimacy by manufacturing a representation of the “voice of the people,” effectively claiming:\u00a0“I talk like you, therefore I represent you”\u00a0(Blommaert, 2018, p. 5). In his speech, Mamdani systematically avoided the pronoun “I” replacing it with a collective “We”:\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We did not just beat the machine; we broke the code. They told us that safety meant policing; we showed them safety means solidarity.”<\/p>\n

This rhetoric completes the cycle of\u00a0algorithmic populism. The “people” that were constructed digitally through likes, shares and comments were now physically materialized in the room. When footage of this speech was uploaded back onto Instagram\u00a0(see Figure 8), it generated a secondary wave of “uptake” with the comment section acting as a digital rally. This ‘digital rally’ was evidenced by users who explicitly validated Mamdani\u2019s communicative style, with top comments stating: “A politician who learned how to use Internet properly. Finally!!” Others framed his victory not just as an electoral win but as a restoration of faith in political agency, as one user noted: “This is the first time I am following a politician… [he] is a breath of fresh air.” Phrases like “Great bro you made history” and “Next stop > Oval Office” transformed the comment section into a space of collective celebration, effectively merging online affect. Here, the “online” affect and “offline” political organization merged into a singular political force, proving that the algorithm can indeed be hacked to serve a socialist hegemony.<\/p>\n

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Figure 7 \u2013 Instagram post comments responding to Mamdani\u2019s victory speech<\/p>\n

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The Limits of Algorithmic Socialism: The Risk of Trivialization<\/p>\n

While Mamdani\u2019s mastery of the algorithm is evident, recent scholarship points to a hidden cost associated with this aesthetic strategy. Research on political communication on TikTok shows that the platform\u2019s affordances encourage the rise of politainment in political content (Cervi & Mar\u00edn-Llad\u00f3, 2021, p. 12). For a democratic socialist such as Mamdani, whose programme depends on complex structural reforms including the cancellation of taxi medallion debt or the restructuring of rent laws, this creates a structural paradox. By adapting to the gamified logic of the platform, Mamdani risks what can be described as the trivialization of ideology, particularly when algorithmic visibility is interpreted as political accomplishment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moments of viral success and celebratory rhetoric, such as claims of having \u201cbroken the code,\u201d may frame communicative victories as signs of ideological consolidation. At the same time, the platform demands that his critique of capitalism be compressed into short and easily consumable performances, which can privilege affective recognition over sustained political commitment. As Cervi and Mar\u00edn-Llad\u00f3 note, success on TikTok often depends on adopting the narratives and staging associated with spectacle (2021, p. 12). The analytical tension lies in the fact that while algorithmic visibility can assemble digitally connected communities around shared understandings of economic injustice, it does not automatically generate the organisational structures or movement discipline required for long-term ideological stamina. The central challenge therefore lies in translating moments of affective engagement and online recognition into a durable political movement capable of sustaining commitment beyond periods of heightened visibility.<\/p>\n

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Conclusion: A New Blueprint for the Left?<\/p>\n

From a discourse analytical perspective, this case demonstrates that the communicative tools often associated with algorithmic populism, such as viral intimacy, meme culture, and emotional mobilization, are not inherently exclusive to right-wing politics. Zohran Mamdani\u2019s campaign illustrates how these tools can be redeployed to articulate a left-wing political project that challenges neoliberal common sense. By refusing to frame \u201csafety\u201d through the language of policing and instead grounding it in material concerns such as housing and wages, Mamdani engaged in a successful discursive intervention that redefined political priorities within a digitally mediated public sphere.<\/p>\n

At the same time, this success must be approached with caution. As the analysis of the campaign\u2019s limitations has shown, reliance on social media platforms introduces structural vulnerabilities that cannot be ignored. While Mamdani benefited from the elective affinity between populist communication and algorithmic visibility, the platform-driven emphasis on politainment risks flattening complex socialist demands into simplified and consumable content. The tension between viral recognition and ideological depth raises questions about whether communicative success can be sustained once the dynamics of spectacle begin to overshadow programmatic substance.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Mamdani\u2019s campaign suggests that perceived authenticity operates as a valuable form of political currency within digitally networked mobilization. As Bennett and Segerberg have argued, contemporary political engagement increasingly follows the logic of connective action, enabling large-scale participation through personalized content sharing rather than through strong organizational structures (Bennett & Segerberg, 2012, pp. 739\u2013742). The political significance of Mamdani\u2019s campaign therefore lies not only in its ability to generate visibility, but in the unresolved challenge of translating digitally mediated engagement into durable organizational capacity. In this sense, algorithmic socialism emerges not as a finished blueprint, but as a contingent political strategy whose long-term viability depends on its capacity to move from moments of affective connection toward sustained collective organization and governing power.<\/p>\n

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References<\/p>\n

Bennett, W. L., & Segerberg, A. (2012). The logic of connective action: Digital media and the personalization of contentious politics. Cambridge University Press. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/CBO9781139198752<\/a><\/p>\n

Blommaert, J. (2018). Trump’s tweetopoetics (Tilburg Papers in Culture Studies, No. 203). Tilburg University.<\/p>\n

Blommaert, J. (2019).\u00a0How AOC formats C-SPAN. Diggit Magazine. https:\/\/www.diggitmagazine.com\/column\/aoc-c-span-media-hit<\/a><\/p>\n

Blommaert, J. (2020, February 12). Pelosi and Trump: Choreographies of conflict. Diggit Magazine. https:\/\/www.diggitmagazine.com\/column\/pelosi-trump-conflict<\/a><\/p>\n

Bucher, T. (2012). Want to be on the top? Algorithmic power and the threat of invisibility in Facebook. New Media & Society, 14(7), 1164\u20131180.<\/p>\n

Cervi, L., & Mar\u00edn-Llad\u00f3, C. (2021). What are political parties doing on TikTok? The Spanish case.\u00a0Profesional de la informaci\u00f3n,\u00a030(4), e300403. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3145\/epi.2021.jul.03<\/a><\/p>\n

Chadwick, A. (2017). The hybrid media system: Politics and power (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. https:\/\/doi-org.tilburguniversity.idm.oclc.org\/10.1093\/oso\/9780190696726.001.0001<\/a><\/p>\n

Fairclough, N. (1989).\u00a0Language and Power. Longman.<\/p>\n

Gerbaudo, P. (2018). Social media and populism: an elective affinity?\u00a0Media, Culture & Society,\u00a040(5), 745\u2013753. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0163443718772192<\/a><\/p>\n

Lempert, M., & Silverstein, M. (2012). Creatures of politics: Media, message, and the American presidency. Indiana University Press.<\/p>\n

Maly, I. (2018). Algorithmic populism and algorithmic activism. Diggit Magazine. https:\/\/www.diggitmagazine.com\/articles\/algorithmic-populism-activism<\/a><\/p>\n

Maly, I. (2023). Metapolitics, algorithms and violence: New right activism and terrorism in the attention economy. Routledge. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4324\/9781003283379<\/a><\/p>\n

Maly, I. (2025). Trump’s divine power. Diggit Magazine. https:\/\/www.diggitmagazine.com\/trumps-divine-power<\/a><\/p>\n

Use of Generative AI<\/p>\n

This article was written by the author. Generative AI tools were used only for minor language revision and clarity, not for content generation or analysis.<\/p>\n

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