New York mayor’s Mandarin video goes viral, drawing praise and skepticism

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has garnered millions of views and a flood of online comments after posting a 41-second video on social media in which he delivers a public service announcement entirely in Mandarin.

The video promotes a city program offering 2,000 free Broadway tickets to high school students through a lottery.

In the clip, Mamdani says, "Hello, my name is Mamdani. I don’t know Chinese, but I want to give it a try.”

Although his accent was not that of a native speaker, Mamdani’s pronunciation, delivery, and handling of the four tones impressed many online users, including native speakers and language learners who praised his accuracy.

Ben Rhodes, former White House Deputy National Security Advisor, comments on Mamdani's video, saying, "This is some next-level outreach by a generational talent.”

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, a journalist fluent in Mandarin who covers China, praised his use of tones and wondered how a beginner could achieve such accuracy.

However, not everyone was convinced. Some video and audio analysts pointed out what they identified as 10 editing cuts in the clip, raising questions about whether the pronunciation was digitally enhanced or even AI-generated.

Mamdani used Mandarin and Cantonese videos during his campaign to reach New York’s Chinatown communities. 

This video marks his first full Mandarin address since taking office.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓