WZO says suspected bot accounts amplified Mamdani posts from City Hall IPs

The WZO said findings came from cyber experts who analyzed IP addresses, activity patterns, and distribution networks linked to the suspected accounts.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The World Zionist Organization said it has uncovered what it described as a coordinated network of suspected bot accounts on X that amplified content from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and affiliated accounts, and that cyber experts traced the activity to New York City Hall IP infrastructure.

The organization said it will seek a federal investigation but acknowledged the findings do not establish who operated the accounts or whether city officials directed them.

The WZO said its Department for Combating Antisemitism received findings from cyber experts who analyzed IP addresses, activity patterns and distribution networks linked to the suspected accounts.

The Jerusalem Post, which first reported the findings, said it independently consulted the cyber experts involved.

They said they were “100% sure” the IP addresses could be traced to city hall but did not provide evidence identifying the operators or proving any involvement by city officials.

According to the analysis, dozens—and possibly hundreds—of accounts displayed similar behavior, including hundreds of posts or reposts per day, almost no original content, limited profile information and repeated amplification of posts from Mamdani’s official account, city accounts and political allies.

In many cases, 96% to 100% of an account’s activity consisted of reposts.

The analysts said high posting volume alone does not prove automation, but the combination of repeated-sharing rates approaching 100%, newly created accounts and nearly identical activity patterns across numerous accounts raised suspicion of coordinated or automated behavior.

The WZO said it will ask Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the United States’ Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, to forward the findings to U.S. law enforcement authorities.

“There is a need for a thorough, professional, and independent investigation into these hate-amplification operations,” Yifat Ovadia-Luski, head of the Department for Combating Antisemitism at the WZO, told The Jerusalem Post.

Mark Goldfeder, CEO and director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, told the newspaper that the organization is referring the matter to the Department of Investigation and the Conflicts of Interest Board while requesting New York City Hall server logs.