AI attack videos fuel Spencer Pratt’s LA mayor run

AI campaign – Viral AI-generated clips casting Spencer Pratt as Los Angeles’ savior have surged online, boosting his campaign against Mayor Karen Bass and Nithya Raman while raising ethical alarms.

Los Angeles’ mayoral race has taken a sharper turn into the realm of memes and synthetic images, where a former reality star is being portrayed as the city’s lone hero by viral AI videos and that style is now colliding with concerns about violence, trust, and ethics.

Spencer Pratt. known for his stint as a villain on MTV’s “The Hills. ” has become the subject of a wave of cinematic. AI-generated campaign-themed posts.. The videos. created by filmmaker Charlie Curran. depict Pratt in superhero-like scenarios: battling Mayor Karen Bass in a lightsaber duel. appearing as a Batman-like figure opposite a Joker-esque Bass. and in some clips placing California Gov.. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris behind the scenes.. The posts have been viewed millions of times on social media.

Pratt has denied involvement, saying the clips are “fan-made,” in a since-deleted Instagram video.. He has reposted several of them on X, while promoting his own “man-made” campaign videos.. Those posts include footage of his wife. Heidi Pratt. and their son. portraying life after their home burned down in the Palisades Fire.. The campaign trail around Pratt’s candidacy has also attracted support from a small circle of celebrities. including Paris Hilton. actor Taylor Lautner. and celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton. who have commented on his profile and backed his bid.

The attention is landing as Pratt positions himself as an antiestablishment community advocate.. He has criticized Bass for how she handled the Palisades Fire. along with what he characterizes as a worsening homelessness crisis in Los Angeles.. Bass, meanwhile, is leading in re-election polling, but Pratt continues to build support online and among some Angelenos.

Not everyone is impressed.. In an interview with CNN. Bass called the viral AI-made videos part of “a very dangerous trend. ” saying Pratt’s social media campaign “is now taking on a violent turn.” She pointed to clips that show tomatoes being thrown at her and scenes depicting “drowning me and the governor in a reservoir.” A spokesperson for Bass did not immediately respond to a request for comment.. Pratt and Curran also did not respond.

Pratt has not directly addressed Bass’s recent comments, but on Wednesday he responded to broader criticism in a general Instagram post. “Funny how they never attack my policy ideas,” he wrote, later adding: “Come at my policies or go sit back down on the back bench. I’m in the arena, son.”

Political technology experts say the spectacle is less about any single candidate and more about what AI has enabled.. Samuel Woolley. an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh who studies communications and emerging technologies. said the videos reflect how politicians can adopt the internet’s own language.. “It’s a way of speaking the language of memes,” Woolley said.. “And the language of memes is the currency of the internet.” He added that the technology has become widely accessible. enabling nearly anyone to create persuasive content on behalf of a candidate.

Eric Wilson, a political technologist for American conservatives, said the core mechanics of campaigning remain familiar even as tools change.. Campaigns still aim to make their candidate look good and their opponent look bad.. “We want to make sure that our candidate looks good and the other candidate doesn’t,” Wilson said.. He described Pratt’s fan-made videos as effective partly because they tell a clear story through heroes and villains.

Wilson also pointed to partisan differences in adoption of AI-driven messaging.. He said Republicans appear more likely to use AI in campaign strategy than Democrats. citing recent poll results by the American Association of Political Consultants.. He noted that within the GOP. President Donald Trump has already leaned heavily into AI-generated memes as part of his political branding.

Still, there are risks.. Wilson warned that campaigns could damage public confidence if they align themselves too closely with AI-generated media.. Tests by the American Association of Political Consultants found that adding AI disclaimers to videos decreases trust among viewers. regardless of whether the videos were truly AI-generated.. “Campaigns have to weigh: Is the added benefit of the storytelling worth the trade-off in decrease in trust?” Wilson said.. “So it’s still very much an open question.”

Woolley, who focuses on emerging technology and manipulation, said he doubts backlash will be strong enough to deter widespread use. In his view, Pratt is benefiting from what he called the democratization of propaganda and the lack of oversight by social media platforms.

The controversy has also highlighted the uneasy question of where the line between persuasion and degradation will be drawn.. Woolley said skepticism about political use of generative AI may be higher on the American left than the right. but he also said consultants and data scientists have told him that campaigns on both sides feel pressured to adopt generative AI to avoid falling behind.

Pratt’s campaign has leaned into that momentum in its own way.. This week. he posted an AI-generated video that functions as an attack ad against himself while listing what he frames as his selling points.. The post comes after a labor union backed Bass. using what appeared to be an attack advertisement that portrayed Pratt in a more favorable light to Republican voters.. Analysts suspected that effort was meant to help Pratt in the runoff against Bass. while pushing Raman. Bass’s main Democratic opponent. out of the race.

In the AI video Pratt shared, a man says angrily, “A vote for Spencer is a vote for change.. Why would you vote for change when everything is fine?” as what appears to show his crying daughter plays in the background. with homes burning behind them.. The ad includes a line urging viewers to “Stay the course with Karen Bass.”

Some in Los Angeles, a historically progressive city, have expressed distaste for generative AI, a potential hazard for Pratt, Woolley said. But the same content has also boosted Pratt’s popularity online, potentially forcing his opponents to take him more seriously.

As the mayoral contest continues, experts said the immediate outcome remains uncertain.. Woolley cautioned that anger. vibes. and memes may not be enough. but he also said the algorithmic nature of online attention can turn challengers into headline makers quickly.. “Time will tell whether or not anger and vibes and memes are enough to get Pratt into the mayoral office in L.A.. ” he said.

Los Angeles politics Spencer Pratt Karen Bass AI campaign ads Nithya Raman generative AI