Can Mamdani stop NYPD from spying on residents?

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani faces a further test of his resolve and principles after the city’s police department (NYPD) disclosed that it spies on the city’s residents’ online.

NYPD fesses up

On 4 February 2026, the NYPD finally admitted that it uses ‘sockpuppet’ fake accounts – technically ‘managed attribution’ infrastructure — to covertly monitor New Yorkers’ online activity.

Or, as the department dressed it up, to:

allow its personnel to safely, securely and covertly conduct investigations and detect possible criminal activity on the internet.

Mamdani’s resolve

As a former state assembly member, Mamdani had supported proposed legislation to outlaw such tactics — the “Stop Fakes Act”. The legislation never passed. Now his supporters and opponents alike are waiting to see whether he is willing to face down the police. Will he use his power as mayor to halt these underhand practices.

The test comes after Mamdani chose to endorse Kathy Hochul — “one of the most pro-Israel governors in the country” — as the Democratic party’s candidate for the position.

Hochul, a right-winger who allocated massive police funding to attacks on university anti-genocide campuses, also sabotaged a nurses’ strike by making it easier for hospitals to hire scab labour.

After a positive start to his tenure, the endorsement led to accusations from appalled left-wingers that Mamdani was betraying the socialist, anti-genocide positions that formed the centre of his mayoral election campaign.

If he now chooses not to confront the city’s police, his credibility is likely to collapse.

Featured image via the Canary