{
  "id": 2599584,
  "title": "Abdul El-Sayed used Mamdani’s social media playbook to overcome a 9:1 spending deficit. Now he’s facing slander about 9/11",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/abdul-el-sayed-used-mamdanis-social-media-playbook-to-overcome-a-9-1",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-22T15:18:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/08/22/el-sayed-social-media-underdog-campaign/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Abdul El-Sayed, the former director of Wayne County's Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services, managed to win Michigan's Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate against Rep. Haley Stevens, despite having a 9-to-1 spending deficit. He achieved this by employing social media strategies, often produced by the Fight Agency, which also helped Mayor Zohran Mamdani's campaign in New York City. El-Sayed's ads, many of which resembled music videos, aimed at attracting younger voters and utilized endorsements from prominent figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. However, after his victory, El-Sayed now faces allegations of slander surrounding his comments on 9/11.",
  "summary": "Some of Abdul El-Sayed's music-video-style social ads were made by the same agency behind Zohran Mamdani's campaign.",
  "key_points": [
    "Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan's Democratic primary with a 9-to-1 spending deficit.",
    "He used social media strategies, including those from the Fight Agency, to appeal to younger voters.",
    "El-Sayed faces slander allegations regarding his 9/11 comments after his victory."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}