Zohran Mamdani won because he knew when to be online — and when not to
TL;DR
Zohran Mamdani won NYC mayor by using social media effectively but also knowing when to disconnect, which appealed to voters tired of overly online politicians.
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Zohran Mamdani owes his win as New York City mayor substantially to his internet presence. Mamdani - as numerous writers have outlined - is good on social video. He picked a message, stuck to it, and adapted that platform to snappy soundbites across multiple mediums. But Mamdani's best trait as an online communicator wasn't knowing how to use the internet. It was understanding when not to use it. In an era of terminally synthetic politics, New York picked the candidate who still seems capable of looking away from his screen.
"Extremely online" might be the two words most frequently attached to politicians in 2025. Since taking office in Jan …