A post appeared on November 4 on the online forum 4chan, a site frequently used by the American alt-right. The post was part of a thread discussing the New York City Council elections which Zohran Mamdani, a candidate from the left wing of the Democratic Party, won later that day.
The online post contains a statement, written in English, purporting to be a response to the election of New York's new Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The message imitates the Amaq News Agency, the Islamic State group's propaganda outlet, and incorporates its logo, which features the group's flag and the Seal of Muhammad.
In this fake statement, the group appears to celebrate the election of Mamdani: "We, in the Islamic State, would like to express our sincerest excitement and deepest commendation for today’s jihad in New York City and its valiant and righteous martyrs.”
A few lines later, the statement reportedly goes on to consider the progressive candidate's victory as one for the Islamic State group: "The 11/4 operations have been the most carefully coordinated response to American aggression and imperialism launched from the Muslim world since 9/11."
Pro-Trump influencers amplified fabricated statement
The fabricated statement was subsequently shared on X by Sarah Adams, an X profile that claims to have worked for the CIA. Adams is the founder of the online investigation project "Benghazi: Know Thy Enemy", which purports to investigate the jihadist sphere in the Middle East. "ISIS [the Islamic state group] is threatening New York City today," Adams wrote, alongside the fake communique. Adams later deleted this tweet on October 5.
Shortly after Adams' post, the fake wire story was widely circulated by pro-Trump X accounts, such as that of conservative influencer Laura Loomer. Loomer, a prominent figure in the pro-Trump digital ecosystem known to have the ear of the president, wrote, “The Muslims can’t think of a better way for the Muslims to celebrate the victory of a Muslim mayoral candidate today than by committing an ISIS attack in NYC.”
Another conservative influencer, Alexander Duncan, a Republican primary candidate for the US Senate in Texas, shared the post with the following caption: "This is all you need to know about jihadi Mamdani. ISIS is openly supporting and calling his victory already.” His post, which had been viewed more than 1.7 million times as of November 10, appeared to have been taken down as of November 11.
Accounts favourable to the Israeli state's policy also shared this fake statement. This includes the account Mossad Commentary, which referred to it as a “statement” released by “ISIS”. The account suggests the date of the statement is clearly linked to the elections, writing: “The timing isn’t a coincidence. It’s a warning.”
Why the statement doesn't add up
Wassim Nasr, FRANCE 24’s jihadism expert, said this communique is radically different from the Amaq agency’s publications:
"This publication bears no resemblance to what Amaq produces. The graphics are radically different. The text is in English, yet Amaq primarily communicates in Arabic, occasionally using other languages through translations of the initial content.
For the Islamic State group, democracy contradicts divine laws. They would never endorse a candidate participating in the democratic process. Even the Muslim Brotherhood, which engages in democracy, is considered apostate by them."
In addition to containing material radically opposed to the ideology of the Islamic State group, the wire story cites Sura Al-Anfal (the eighth chapter of the Koran), verse 36: "Indeed, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to avert people from the way of Allah. So they will spend it; then it will be for them a source of regret; then they will be overcome." However, according to Nasr, the Amaq agency's publications do not cite religious content.
This article has been translated from the original in French.
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