{"id":338685,"date":"2026-09-05T07:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T07:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/338685\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T07:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T07:48:12","slug":"mamdani-team-deletes-auto-delete-in-influencer-chats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/338685\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani Team Deletes Auto-Delete in Influencer Chats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s<\/a> chief counsel said Friday that he took \u201cimmediate corrective action\u201d after learning a City Hall communications staffer set some chats on an encrypted app<\/a> to \u201cauto-delete\u201d official messages.<\/p>\n

The Columbia Journalism Review earlier this week published an article by university researchers showing the mayor\u2019s new-media team used the app Signal to share information with an extensive network of influencers and content creators<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chief Counsel Ramzi Kassem said at the time that there wasn\u2019t a city policy against using Signal and some employees could be authorized to use it \u2014 even though early in Mamdani\u2019s tenure he penned an order barring the use of Signal and similar apps.<\/p>\n

The app has multiple features, including auto-delete, whose use is against the city\u2019s records retention policy.<\/p>\n

MORE: Mamdani Appears to Defend City Hall\u2019s Reported Use of Encrypted Influencer Group Chat<\/a><\/p>\n

The New York Times reported<\/a> earlier Friday that chats between a member of Mamdani\u2019s communications team and at least one specific content creator were set to auto-delete \u2014 making them unavailable for official archiving and public records requests. Officials disabled the function after the Times asked about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we learned about this incident from reporting, we took immediate corrective action,\u201d Kassem said at an unrelated press conference.<\/p>\n

Kassem said there isn\u2019t a \u201cblanket ban\u201d on the use of Signal, noting it has tools like large group management that make it useful for some work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear if or when Emilia Winter Rowland, who ran the Signal chats and oversees new media for the mayor, sought permission to use the app for official government business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Counsel\u2019s Memo Barred Signal and WhatsApp<\/p>\n

A \u201ccommunications requirements and best practices\u201d memo sent to staff on Jan. 15, just two weeks into Mamdani\u2019s administration, and shared with The City Reporter explicitly forbade the use of Signal and WhatsApp.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should not use WhatsApp, Signal, or any other communications app or platform for work. If you have questions about the use of other platforms, please contact the Office of the Chief Counsel,\u201d said the memo, which was signed by Kassem and other legal officials in the mayor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Good-government group Reinvent Albany praised Mamdani\u2019s use of influencers to share his message, along with some agencies\u2019 longstanding use of paid influencers.\u00a0But it criticized the use of Signal and the storage of city government messages on third-party servers.<\/p>\n

MORE: Council Grills Mamdani Health Team Over Deadly UES Legionnaires\u2019 Outbreak<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEven now in 2026, the City of New York has not developed a practical way for official records created by these apps to be archived or retrieved by agency FOIL officers, who cannot search them by key words like they can city emails,\u201d the group said in a statement, referring to Freedom of Information requests.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the outside, the public cannot tell if a city official is using an instant messaging app because they are poorly trained and know nothing about the official records archiving requirements in the City Charter, or they are deliberately breaking the law and trying to hide or destroy city records,\u201d the group added.<\/p>\n

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