Full Analysis Summary
Mayor-elect appointment controversy
One of New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s recent appointees, Catherine Almonte Da Costa, resigned after resurfaced social media posts from 2011–2012 that contained antisemitic language were publicized by the Anti-Defamation League and others.
Multiple outlets report Da Costa stepped down one day after being named director of appointments.
She issued apologies saying the posts do not reflect who she is and expressing regret.
Mamdani accepted her resignation as his incoming administration moved to withdraw the appointment.
Coverage Differences
Tone/Emphasis
Some sources emphasize the procedural facts of the resignation and the appointee’s apology, while others foreground the role of the ADL in publicizing the posts and pressing for answers. For example, KTAR (Other) and CNN (Western Mainstream) focus on the resignation and apology, while Moneycontrol (Asian) and New York Post (Western Mainstream) stress the ADL’s role in publicizing the posts and demanding answers. These differences reflect editorial focus rather than contradictory facts: all agree she resigned, apologized, and Mamdani accepted the resignation, but they highlight different actors and emphases.
Source Focus / Detail
Regional outlets differ in the level of detail they include about Da Costa’s background and previous work. Moneycontrol (Asian) provides background on Da Costa’s prior roles and notes the ADL said it had been tracking Mamdani’s hires, while some Western outlets focus more tightly on the tweets and immediate fallout.
Reactions to controversial posts
Reporting identifies the Anti-Defamation League as a central actor in bringing the posts to light and demanding answers.
Several outlets quoted the ADL calling the posts indefensible and reported that it publicized or shared the tweets.
Jewish and political leaders reacted, with some praising the resignation and others warning about selective responses depending on the target of the remarks.
Da Costa issued an apology that acknowledged she is the mother of Jewish children and expressed regret.
Mamdani accepted the resignation and described it as the appropriate response to the distraction.
Coverage Differences
Attribution and Reaction
Sources agree the ADL publicized the posts, but differ in quoting the ADL and in describing other community reactions. JTA (Western Mainstream) and Hindustan Times (Asian) explicitly quote the ADL calling the posts “indefensible,” while Moneycontrol (Asian) reports the ADL declined to comment to that outlet but had shared the tweets. This shows variation in which direct ADL statements or lack thereof each outlet had access to or emphasized.
Framing of Community Response
Some outlets include broader community debate about whether reactions would differ depending on who was targeted. JTA reports both praise for the departure and commentary that reactions might differ if the target had been “Zionist” rather than “Jew,” while other outlets focus narrowly on leaders who praised the resignation.
Decade-old tweets cited
Several outlets republished or cited the decade-old tweets or paraphrased them; some included verbatim examples.
Reported examples included phrases such as "Money hungry Jews smh," "money-hungry Jews," "Working alongside these rich Jewish peeps," and the claim that the Far Rockaway train was "the Jew train."
Those concrete examples were used by multiple outlets to illustrate why the posts were widely denounced.
Coverage Differences
Level of Quotation vs Paraphrase
Western tabloids and some international outlets reproduce verbatim, inflammatory tweets (New York Post, Hindustan Times), while mainstream outlets like CNN and KTAR paraphrase the content (e.g., “money-hungry Jews”) rather than reproducing the exact tweet language. This leads to differences in how explicit each outlet’s coverage appears.
Selection of Examples
Some outlets select a few specific tweets as representative (Hindustan Times lists three examples), while others cite one paraphrase (CNN) or focus on the ADL’s characterization (KTAR). That selection shapes readers’ sense of the posts’ tenor.
Dispute over appointment knowledge
Coverage differs on whether Mamdani or his team knew about the posts before appointing Da Costa.
Transition sources told NBC New York that Mamdani and his team were unaware of the posts when they appointed her.
Several outlets note the appointment was announced one day and withdrawn the next.
Others, including Moneycontrol and the New York Post, emphasize the ADL's demand for answers about whether the administration knew or condoned the posts.
Coverage Differences
Attribution of Prior Knowledge
NBC New York (Western Mainstream) reports transition sources saying Mamdani’s team was unaware of the posts at appointment time, while New York Post (Western Mainstream) and Moneycontrol (Asian) emphasize the ADL’s demand that Mamdani’s team explain whether it knew. This is not a direct contradiction — one set of reports records the transition team’s denial of prior knowledge, the others report the ADL’s questions — but it highlights different emphases: denial of knowledge vs. calls for accountability.
Timeline Emphasis
Multiple outlets stress how quickly the appointment was reversed — named Wednesday, resigned Thursday — though they attach that speed to different causes (public pressure, ADL action, transition awareness).
Coverage of Mamdani controversy
Outlets place the episode in different broader contexts: some treat it as an isolated personnel misstep quickly corrected, while others connect it to larger scrutiny of Mamdani's rhetoric and hiring choices.
JTA highlights growing concern in the Jewish community about Mamdani's history of anti-Israel rhetoric even as he condemns antisemitism.
Moneycontrol mentions past controversy over Mamdani's response to 'globalize the intifada'.
Several outlets also note Mamdani has announced few hires so far, making each appointment subject to scrutiny.
Coverage Differences
Contextual Framing
JTA (Western Mainstream) situates the resignation within broader Jewish community concern over Mamdani’s rhetoric, while some mainstream outlets (CNN, NBC New York) present it primarily as an early staffing hiccup. Moneycontrol (Asian) connects the episode to ongoing scrutiny of Mamdani’s statements about Israel. These different framings shape whether readers see the incident as symptomatic of a pattern or as an isolated mistake.
Severity and Language
Some sources use stronger, direct language (JTA quoting ADL calling posts “indefensible”; Hindustan Times reproducing explicit slurs), while others use more measured paraphrase. That influences perceived severity in the coverage.