Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt reposted a scathing AI-generated advertisement on X on Tuesday, portraying the city as a bleak hellscape under its current leadership. The viral video, created by filmmaker Charlie Curran, shows flames engulfing the Hollywood sign, a socialist militia patrolling the streets, and California's political elite—including Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor Karen Bass, and former Vice-President Kamala Harris—depicted as uncaring royals.
In the video, a vigilante Batman-esque version of Pratt emerges as the hero. The repost came a day before Pratt was scheduled to face his opponents in the mayoral race—incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and city council member Nithya Raman—at a debate. For weeks, Pratt, a former reality television star, has criticized Bass and Raman on issues such as wildfire response, homelessness, and public safety.
In a post on 19 April, 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." Bass and Raman did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the AI-generated video.
As of Wednesday, the clip had garnered 3.6 million views. Former Florida Governor and 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush called it "maybe the best political ad of the year." It remains unclear whether Curran, who also did not respond to a request for comment, is connected to Pratt's campaign.
Steve Caplan, a political advertising expert at the University of Southern California, noted that 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. However, Caplan expressed skepticism about the video's impact on voter turnout, pointing out that Hollywood workers may oppose AI promotion and that Los Angeles is 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."
