NYC's Mamdani did not order flags at half-mast to mark death of Iran's leader
- Published on March 2, 2026 at 23:00
- 2 min read
- By AFP USA
Zohran Mamdani's Muslim faith has been repeatedly targeted by misinformation, including after US attacks on Iran, when social media posts accused him of flying flags at half-mast to mark the death of Iran's supreme leader. But the New York City mayor gave no such order; the claim originated with a satire site.
"Arrest Mamdani. NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered flags at half-mast on state buildings amid Muslim mourning for Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei," says a March 1, 2026 post on Instagram.
The same video, from BSN Network on TikTok, spread in multiple languages across platforms including Threads and X.
A war is enveloping the Middle East, unleashed by major US-Israeli combat operations on Iran that began February 28.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been Iran's hardline spiritual guide and top political authority since 1989. Iranian state media confirmed his death on March 1.
Mamdani posted on X and told local media that the strikes by the United States and Israel were a "catastrophic escalation." His remarks faced quick criticism from prominent conservatives.
But he made no mention of Iran's supreme leader, focusing instead on Iranians living in New York and offering assurances that they would be safe in the city (archived here, here and here).
Sam Raskin, deputy press secretary for New York's city hall, told AFP on March 2 that it is "not true" the mayor ordered flags on government buildings in the city lowered.
Updates to the city's flag status are reported on the NYC311 website. As of March 2 at 2155 GMT, it said flags were at "full staff" (archived here).
The website for the New York state office of general services, meanwhile, reported: "Flags on State government buildings are currently at full staff "(archived here).
The last directive to lower flags was issued by New York Governor Kathy Hochul on February 17 and carried out the next day to mark the death of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson (archived here).
Mamdani marked the occasion on his social media on February 18.
Satire taken as true
The video originated with BSN Network, which posted it to Facebook, Instagram, Threads and YouTube.
The BSN Network describes itself as "satire" and "comedy" in its page descriptions, while the account's banner photo on Facebook says: "Fake but funny. News you can never trust."
However, the posts' captions do not specify that the content was satirical and many comments show viewers were not aware of the comedic intent.
Keyword searches revealed that a second satire site, The Babylon Bee, also posted an article falsely claiming Mamdani ordered flags at One World Trade Center to be flown at half-staff.
Find more of AFP's reporting on misinformation surrounding the Middle East war here.
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