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Zohran Mamdani is taking heat for using school kids in his online campaign ads even after noting how “fortunate” he was to enjoy a childhood free of social media.
The 33-year-old New York City mayoral candidate, who has built his brand on viral content, was criticized by Instagram followers after he featured interviews with two kids promoting his bid for City Hall.
The criticism also came as New York City launched a statewide classroom cellphone ban aimed at protecting student mental health, and ahead of the mayoral election. On Thursday, Mamdani appeared outside I.S. 5 in Queens, praising the new cellphone ban while welcoming families back for the first day of the school year.
On Instagram, he also shared a post and contrasted his own childhood with today’s digital reality, writing:
“I consider myself fortunate—when I was a student, it was before social media had cannibalized the way that kids interact with one another,” he wrote. The post was paired with a back-to-school message about “hope and new beginnings.”
But just days later, Mamdani’s campaign accounts featured the two young kids speaking directly to Mamdani and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
In one clip, a girl confidently endorsed him; in another, a boy offered support while Warren sat nearby.
“How old is she? So articulate, but she’s so tiny,” one follower said about the little girl.
Critics wondered why Mamdani was using children in his social media ads even as he decried the effects of cellphones and social media on children.
“Why are you using kids to promote your political agenda?” complained another follower commenting on the post featuring the boy’s interview.
One critic wrote: “He can express his personal opinion and promote whomever he wants, using the kids to do it is unacceptable.”
Mamdani’s posts featuring the two children also came days before New York Governor Kathy Hochul defended the new cellphone restrictions, arguing they will reduce distractions, improve mental health and even protect children during emergencies by preventing location-sharing.
Hochul discussed the state’s ban on cellphone use in public schools on “Fox News Sunday.”
The new law prohibits smartphones and smartwatches during school hours, except for medical or educational use.
Mamdani, who unseated a longtime incumbent in the Democratic primary, is campaigning on sweeping progressive promises, from a $30 minimum wage to a rent freeze.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani for comment.
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