There is also a newly created Signal group just for influencers, which was formed out of the Creators4Zohran group that supported the mayor’s election campaign. NYC Creators Announcements is run by Emilia Rowland, the director of new media and cultural communications at the NYC Office of the Mayor. Via the encrypted-messaging app, members receive daily updates, talking points, and clips to use in their posts. They are invited to events and offered interviews with city officials.

Influencers who are selected to join the group fill out an intake form that describes where they live and what topics they are interested in. They will then receive invitations targeted to their interests, such as being invited to join a neighborhood canvass or film the preparation of a canvass.

In many ways, the Signal group is similar to a traditional press list created and used by communications teams, in that the influencers receive updates and can decide what they choose to cover. There are, of course, clear differences between the work of journalists and social media influencers. These influencers have been criticized for not asking adversarial questions or doing tough investigative reporting. Influencers in the Signal group are not paid by the city for their coverage, although some are paid by city agencies for work on particular messaging campaigns.