Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV star and current Los Angeles mayoral candidate, reposted a scathing AI-generated ad on X on Tuesday, which cast the city as a bleak hellscape under its current leadership.
In the viral video, created by film-maker Charlie Curran, flames engulf the Hollywood sign; a socialist militia patrols the streets; and California’s political brass, including the governor, Gavin Newsom, the mayor, Karen Bass, and Kamala Harris, the former vice-president, are depicted as royals who care little for their subjects’ plights.
Then a hero emerges to save the day. It’s Pratt, or at least a vigilante Batman-esque version of him.
The repost comes a day before Pratt was set to face his opponents in the mayoral race – incumbent Karen Bass and city council member Nithya Raman – at a debate.
For weeks, Pratt has taken Bass and Raman to task over hot-button issues like wildfire response, homelessness and public safety.
In a 19 April post, Pratt wrote: “It’s easy for Karen Basura and Nithya Raman to claim ‘crime is down’ when they simply stop enforcing it. 60K open air drug zombies commit multiple felonies every single day.”
As of Wednesday, the clip had amassed 3.6m views. Former Florida governor and 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush called it “maybe the best political ad of the year”.
A spokesperson for Pratt said the candidate was not behind the video. “Spencer is so popular, people all over the world are making tribute videos on their own. I think the other candidates are just upset that they’re not popular enough to have fan videos like that,” the spokesperson said.
Alex Stack, a campaign spokesperson for Bass, said: “While Spencer Pratt spreads AI slop online, Karen Bass is changing LA – reducing homelessness and crime, building more housing, bringing the film industry back and working to make our city more affordable.”
Raman’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the AI video.
Steve Caplan, a political advertising expert who teaches at the University of Southern California, said AI-generated campaign ads could become common in the future. “They’re cheap, fast and consultants hate spending money on production. You can crank out rapid response in hours,” he said.
The shock value and attention-grabbing nature of the Pratt AI video may not translate to voter turnout, according to Caplan.
For one, workers in Hollywood, which has seen an exodus of production, may bristle at the promotion of AI. Los Angeles, he noted, is also a Democratic-majority city.
“In an election where Democrats will turn out, it’s a pretty narrow base to work from,” he said. “The notion that there are enough voters who would align with this message to win in an election like LA – I’m highly skeptical of that.”
