Escándalo!
Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani was accused Wednesday of using artificial intelligence to fake his Spanish-language prowess for a campaign ad — but the Democratic socialist laughed off the claims as totally loco.
A Spanish-language ad posted to social media earlier this week showed Mamdani making his campaign pitch to Latino New Yorkers inside and outside of Bronx Latin food staple Three Way Restaurant, with commenters even complimenting his pronunciation and apparent fluency.
But state Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz couldn’t believe his ears — and said he had an independent analysis conducted on Mamdani’s speech. Blumencranz, a Long Island Republican, filed a formal complaint to probe whether Mamdani, who is also in the state Assembly, violated campaign laws.
“First ten seconds in Spanish language ad shows smoothness across frequencies that is uncharacteristic of natural speech,” Blumencraz’s analysis said.
“This audio in question is likely not natural human speech due to its lacking formant structure and limited pitch variation. This becomes particularly evident when compared to genuine recordings of Assemblyman Mamdani’s voice.”
Candidates for public office are allowed to use artificial intelligence technology in campaign ads, but under state law they must issue a disclaimer or notice at the end of the ad.
Mamdani laughed off the accusation, and forwarded a two-minute “Spanish Ad Blooper Reel” of him practicing and mangling the language as he tried to get his lines right.
“Only a Long Island Republican would think something that’s genuinely NY is actually AI,” Mamdani said.
But Blumencranz said he’s serious and has filed complaints with state Attorney General Letitia James’ office and the state and city boards of election over the bilingual boost.
“The advertisement in question, which purports to feature Assemblymember Mamdani delivering a message in Spanish, demonstrates sufficient indicators of digital alteration and artificial intelligence-generated voice synthesis,” said the assemblyman, the ranking Republican on the committee on science and technology.
“This isn’t just a technicality—if indeed manipulated absent a disclaimer, it’s deception: plain and simple. New Yorkers deserve truth in their elections. And taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to fund campaigns that mislead them,” the Hicksville Republican said.
Mamdani is running in the crowded June Democratic Party primary for mayor, and polling second behind frontrunner and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Current Mayor Eric Adams is planning to run as an independent in the general election, but in deeply blue New York City the Democratic primary winner is nearly a shoo-in come November.
Mamdani has already received over $6.6 million in public matching funds, with more expected in May.
