LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt reposts scathing AI-generated ad | Los Angeles
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt on Tuesday reposted a scathing AI-generated ad on X that paints the city as a bleak hellscape under his current leadership.
In the viral video, created by filmmaker Charlie Curran, flames engulf the Hollywood sign; a socialist militia patrols the streets; and California’s political leaders, including Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor Karen Bass and former Vice President Kamala Harris, are portrayed as regal bourgeois who care little about the fate of their subjects.
That’s when a hero appears to save the day. It’s Pratt, or at least a vigilante version of Batman.
The rebroadcast comes a day before Pratt is set to face his opponents in the mayor’s race — incumbent Karen Bass and City Council member Nithya Raman — in a debate.
For weeks, Pratt, a former reality TV star, took Bass and Raman to task on hot-button issues such as wildfire response, homelessness and public safety.
In an April 19 article, Pratt wrote, “It’s easy for Karen Basura and Nithya Raman to claim crime is down when they simply stop enforcing it. 60,000 drug zombies in the open commit multiple crimes every day.”
Bass and Raman did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the AI video.
As of Wednesday, the clip had racked up 3.6 million views. Former Florida governor and 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush called it “maybe the best political ad of the year.”
It’s unclear whether Curran, who also did not immediately respond to a request for comment, is connected to Pratt’s campaign.
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 get a quick response within hours,” he said.
According to Caplan, the shock value and captivating nature of the Pratt AI video may not translate into voter turnout.
On the one hand, workers in Hollywood, which has seen an exodus from production, might bristle at the promotion of AI. Los Angeles, he pointed out, is also a majority Democratic city.
“In an election that Democrats are going to be in, the working base is pretty narrow,” he said. “The idea that there would be enough voters who would align with that message to win an election like Los Angeles — I’m very skeptical of that.”
