Mayor Zohran Mamdani denies AI use in Mandarin, Bengali videos

Entertainment Aug 18, 2026

Mayor Zohran Mamdani says his team did not use AI for his recent Mandarin and Bengali videos promoting free Broadway tickets for high schoolers.

After some people doubted the authenticity of his Mandarin, his press secretary jumped in on X, saying, "And just to be clear this is NOT AI."

Spokesperson says Zohran Mamdani studied Mandarin

Mamdani's spokesperson said he studied Mandarin back in high school but hadn't studied or spoken the language since.

Still, native speakers appreciated his pronunciation in both languages.

This isn't the first time he's faced AI rumors. His team previously released a blooper reel from Spanish-language videos to show they were real.

The whole debate highlights how tricky it's getting to tell what's authentic online these days.