{"id":60593,"date":"2025-12-04T11:38:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T11:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/60593\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T11:38:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T11:38:14","slug":"old-video-from-new-york-polices-world-hijab-day-event-falsely-linked-to-zohran-mamdanis-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/60593\/","title":{"rendered":"Old video from New York police’s World Hijab Day event falsely linked to Zohran Mamdani’s election"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign and subsequent election as New York City’s first Muslim mayor in November 2025 has triggered a wave of Islamophobic disinformation on social media, including posts claiming police in the United States’ largest city responded to his win by teaching people how to wear the hijab. The posts falsely linked Mamdani\u2019s victory to an old video filmed nine months before the election, during an outreach programme by the New York Police Department on World Hijab Day.<\/p>\n

“So as expected, now New York Police teaching people in public how to wear HIJAB\u2026 Elect a JIHADI, get JIHAD\u2026. What a fall AMERICANS\u2026.” reads an X post<\/a> shared on November 19, 2025.<\/p>\n

The accompanying video shows a policewoman demonstrating how to put on a hijab, doing it once on herself, before the clip cuts to her putting it on another woman.<\/p>\n

The footage is overlaid with an image of New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani alongside text reading:\u00a0“NYC Police Teaching Public How to Wear a Hijab Sparks Backlash Amid Shar!a Law Fears After New Mayor’s Selection | watch.”<\/p>\n

\"<span>Screenshot<\/p>\n

Screenshot of the false post captured on November 28, 2025, with a red X added by AFP<\/p>\n

The clip appeared in similar posts on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, Threads<\/a> and X\u00a0<\/a>days after Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral election<\/a>, becoming the first Muslim, South Asian, and youngest mayor of New York City on November 4, 2025 (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Mamdani had earlier secured a surprise win in the June<\/a> Democratic primary, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Throughout his campaign, the democratic socialist openly embraced his\u00a0Muslim<\/a> identity, frequently visiting mosques and community centres, making him a target of Islamophobic disinformation<\/a> (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Social media users left comments suggesting they believed the claim, saying the event seen in the video\u00a0 was “aiding and promoting Sharia law”, referring to Islamic legal systems<\/a> derived from the Koran (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

“Mamdani wants New York and the USA to become a Muslim state,” another user wrote.<\/p>\n

But the video predates New York City’s mayoral election and has been shared out of context.<\/p>\n

A combination of reverse image\u00a0<\/a>and keyword searches<\/a> on Google found the footage was clipped and mirrored from the 49:12 mark<\/a> of a YouTube video uploaded on February 7, 2025, months before Mamdani’s election win\u00a0(archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The video is titled “3rd Annual World Hijab Day celebrated by NYPD”.<\/p>\n

\"<span>Screenshot<\/p>\n

Screenshot comparison of the video shared in the false post (L) and the video on YouTube<\/p>\n

The woman who is being shown how to wear the hijab in the circulating video can also be seen in a photo uploaded to the NYPD’s official Instagram<\/a> on February 4, which also said the officers were celebrating World Hijab Day<\/a> (archived\u00a0here<\/a> and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"<span>Screenshot<\/p>\n

Screenshot comparison of the keyframe in the false post (L) and the matching image on Instagram<\/p>\n

The World Hijab Day Organisation’s official Instagram account also shared<\/a> videos from the NYPD event on February 4, with its caption saying the officers were from the NYPD’s Immigrant Outreach Unit (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n

AFP has previously\u00a0debunked<\/a> other disinformation<\/a> targeting Zohran Mamdani<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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