On Nov. 4, 2025, New York Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani beat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a historic New York mayoral race for New York City. The Democrat is the first Muslim and first South Asian to hold the position, and his campaign dealt with dozens of false — and often Islamophobic and racist — claims including that his planned city-run grocery stores would not sell alcohol, cigarettes or lottery tickets because of Islamic law and that the Islamic State endorsed his campaign.
A self-described democratic socialist, Mamdani campaigned for a tax on the wealthiest New Yorkers to pay for rent freezes, an end to bus fares, free child care and more. Unfounded claims related to his policies, such as that he wants to end all misdemeanor charges, also spread.
Mamdani will be the city's youngest mayor in more than a century, and his defeat of Cuomo marked a challenge to the political establishment that was fueled by one of the earliest turnouts in decades and the youth vote.
As Mamdani prepared to step into office in January 2026, Snopes worked to get to the bottom of a number of rumors related to the mayor-elect — including whether he'd be able to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whether Democrats floated a 2028 presidential ticket with Mamdani and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and a breakdown of the controversy surrounding Mamdani's aunt.
Here are 13 rumors about Mamdani we've investigated:
