NYC mayoral hopeful Andrew Cuomo was widely labeled as bigoted following his verified X profile posted—and then deleted—a computer-made ad depicting “criminals for Zohran Mamdani.”
Not even twenty minutes during the second mayoral debate, Cuomo’s official account tweeted the clip. The video was reshared by many prior to being deleted.
Video Content and Imagery
This clip, which has been preserved and reposted by multiple users, lasts just over two minutes and begins with an AI iteration of Mamdani, first running down the roads of NYC and then eating rice using his hands.
It continues by depicting a Black man in a keffiyeh shoplifting, a man mistreating a female, a sex trafficker, a narcotics seller, and others, all showing backing for Mamdani.
Response from Public
Response to the video was fast and negative. An activist, founder of Moms Demand Action, called it “so gross and packed with racist stereotypes, featuring an African American male outfitted as a pimp transporting a vehicle filled with white women. Cuomo needs to be thrown in the ash heap of history.”
This computer-made advertisement was condemned as ‘next-level fascist AI slop.’
A media executive, producer of a news program, highlighted the depiction of the head covering and asked on X: “How are Palestinian New Yorkers supposed to feel to this, or are they insignificant?”
Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa, associate Professor of media studies at Seattle University, stated on Blsky: “This represents advanced fascist AI slop. Additionally, it’s such a weird ‘best-of’ of scary stereotypes from New York’s past.”
Antonia Hylton, co-anchor of MSNBC’s The Weekend, remarked: “This is indeed sad. And pretty racist.”
Election Strategy
The clip follows a trend from the Cuomo campaign, which has released a handful of AI-generated videos in the lead up to 4 November. In a early October video, Cuomo appeared performing various jobs throughout NYC including operating a train, buying and selling stocks and washing high-rise windows.
In response, Mamdani shared via social media: “In a city of top-tier creatives and film teams seeking employment, Andrew Cuomo created a commercial in the manner he drafted his housing plan: using artificial intelligence. Then again, perhaps a synthetic Cuomo is better than the real one?”
Recently, Cuomo shared a video including an AI-generated former mayor and, again, Mamdani. That video sought to portray Mamdani as a “smaller” De Blasio and highlight an instance from the first debate where Cuomo likened the ex-mayor to the mayoral hopeful.
Both campaigns have not responded promptly to inquiries.