Last Updated: May 14, 2026
If you’ve been on social media in the last 48 hours, you’ve almost certainly seen it: a slick, Batman-inspired AI-generated video casting reality TV star-turned-LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt as Gotham’s caped savior — and Mayor Karen Bass as the Joker. The clip is racking up millions of views across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, and it has ignited a firestorm about whether AI-powered political attack ads are the future of campaigning or a dangerous new frontier of disinformation. With the 2026 LA mayoral race now officially heating up, everyone — from voters to legal experts to the mayor herself — has an opinion.
Background
Spencer Pratt is best known to most Americans as the villain-you-loved-to-hate on the long-running MTV reality series The Hills. But in 2026, he’s running a surprisingly serious — if unconventional — campaign for Los Angeles mayor, leaning hard into his celebrity profile and an aggressive digital strategy that has caught mainstream media off guard. His campaign has embraced AI-generated content at a scale rarely seen in local politics, producing a series of synthetic videos that blend pop-culture imagery with pointed political attacks.
The most viral of these videos draws directly from the Batman universe. It depicts Pratt as a heroic savior of Los Angeles while casting incumbent Mayor Karen Bass as the Joker and Governor Gavin Newsom as a cake-eating French aristocrat out of touch with ordinary Angelenos. A separate clip reportedly portrays former Vice President Kamala Harris as a vodka-chugging character. None of these depictions are real footage — they are entirely AI-generated synthetic media. That distinction is at the heart of the controversy now swirling around the campaign.
The videos have earned Pratt considerable attention, including praise from conservative commentators who have called the Batman-inspired ad “the best political ad of the year.” But they have also drawn sharp condemnation from political opponents and media ethics experts who worry about what this moment signals for election integrity going forward.
What Are the AI Videos Spencer Pratt Released?
The AI-generated content released by Pratt’s campaign — and amplified by his supporters — represents a new category of political media: fully synthetic, visually compelling, and deliberately designed to go viral. The Batman-themed video is the crown jewel, using AI video generation tools to render Pratt as a dark knight figure defending Los Angeles from a rogues’ gallery of political opponents.
In the videos, Mayor Karen Bass is depicted as the Joker, visually altered to portray chaos and villainy. Governor Gavin Newsom appears as a French aristocrat gorging on cake — a reference to the let-them-eat-cake narrative that his critics have long pushed. Kamala Harris is shown in an unflattering, vodka-chugging caricature. These are not parody sketches or animated cartoons in the traditional sense; they use generative AI tools to create hyper-realistic synthetic imagery that blurs the line between satire and deceptive media.
Supporters of Pratt — particularly those aligned with conservative media — have enthusiastically shared the content, helping it reach millions of views within days. The videos are polished enough to be genuinely entertaining, which is precisely what makes them so effective at spreading and so concerning to critics. Political entertainment has always been powerful. AI political entertainment with disinformation potential is something else entirely.
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How Viral Did These Campaign Ads Actually Get?
The short answer: very. The AI-generated videos have spread across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, collectively garnering millions of views. CNN covered the story on multiple platforms, including an Instagram reel posted on May 13, 2026, that alone drew more than 2,600 likes and over 1,170 comments. A TikTok post from CNN’s official account pulled in more than 6,300 likes and over 1,000 comments within a short window.
Coverage has been international, too — Sky News host Rita Panahi weighed in, claiming Pratt has gained real momentum in the mayoral race thanks to the viral reach of the AI content. The Hollywood Reporter covered the Batman ad specifically, noting how it positions Pratt as the savior of Los Angeles. That level of earned media — coverage from outlets like CNN, Sky News, The Hill, and The Hollywood Reporter — represents millions of dollars in equivalent advertising reach that no traditional campaign budget for a local mayoral race could buy.
For a candidate who entered the race as a long-shot celebrity novelty, the viral moment has shifted the conversation. Political experts interviewed by CBS LA have noted that AI content could meaningfully impact Pratt’s campaign momentum in ways that traditional advertising simply cannot replicate at this scale and speed.
Why Mayor Bass and Other Opponents Are Concerned
Mayor Karen Bass has not stayed silent. On Tuesday, May 13, 2026, she publicly accused Pratt’s AI-generated advertisements of “taking on a violent” tone and spreading misinformation — remarks she made in an interview that was widely circulated on CNN’s social platforms. Her concern is not merely about being depicted as a comic book villain. It’s about what the imagery signals to voters and whether AI-generated content that misrepresents real public officials crosses a line from political satire into something more dangerous.
Bass is not alone in her criticism. Councilmember Nithya Raman, another figure in the LA political landscape, has also been named by Pratt as someone working to “sideline” his campaign as he surges in polls. The use of AI to craft attack narratives makes it harder for opponents to respond through traditional fact-checking, because the content is not making a falsifiable factual claim — it’s presenting a satirical visual frame that sticks in the viewer’s memory regardless of its accuracy.
The concern, at its core, is about the emotional residue these videos leave behind. Voters who see Mayor Bass depicted as the Joker may not consciously believe she is the Joker — but the association is planted. That’s the psychological power that makes AI political attack ads so potent, and so ethically fraught.
The Deepfake Dilemma: Ethics vs. Political Strategy
The Spencer Pratt AI video moment has crystallized a debate that political scientists, ethicists, and election law experts have been anticipating for years: when does AI-generated political content cross the line from protected free speech and legitimate satire into actionable disinformation?
On one hand, political satire has always distorted and exaggerated. Editorial cartoons have depicted presidents as monsters for centuries. Saturday Night Live impressions have shaped public perceptions of candidates for decades. Pratt’s supporters argue his AI videos are simply a technologically advanced version of the same tradition — hyperbolically entertaining content that voters are capable of understanding is not literal reality.
On the other hand, the realism enabled by modern AI video generation tools creates a qualitatively different kind of content. When a synthetic video is indistinguishable from real footage to a casual viewer, the risk of genuine deception increases dramatically. The videos in question are not photorealistic deepfakes of real footage, but they occupy a gray zone — stylized enough to read as AI, but compelling enough to drive an emotional response and millions of shares.
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Key Facts
- Spencer Pratt, an LA mayoral candidate, released AI-generated attack ads targeting Mayor Karen Bass and others in his campaign.
- The AI videos cast Bass as the Joker, Gov. Gavin Newsom as a cake-eating French aristocrat, and Kamala Harris as a vodka-chugging character.
- Mayor Karen Bass publicly accused Pratt’s AI ads of “taking on a violent” tone and spreading misinformation.
- Supporters of Pratt, including conservatives, have praised the Batman-inspired AI ad as “the best political ad of the year.”
- The AI-generated videos have gone viral across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, garnering millions of views.
- Political experts have weighed in on how AI could significantly impact Pratt’s mayoral campaign momentum.
- The controversy highlights the growing use of deepfakes and synthetic media in political campaigns.
What It Means for You
Whether you’re an LA voter, a political junkie, or just someone trying to navigate a social media feed full of AI-generated content, the Spencer Pratt AI video moment has real practical implications for how you consume political media going forward. Here’s what to keep in mind:
Slow down before you share. AI-generated political videos are designed to trigger an emotional response fast enough that you hit the share button before your critical thinking kicks in. A two-second pause to ask “Is this real footage?” can make a big difference in whether disinformation spreads through your network.
Look for disclosure labels. Responsible AI-generated content should be labeled as synthetic media. If a political video doesn’t identify itself as AI-generated, that’s a red flag worth noting — and worth mentioning when you share it.
Understand the intent. Satire and parody are protected forms of political speech. But there’s a spectrum between clearly labeled satire and content designed to mislead. Knowing where a video falls on that spectrum helps you engage with it more accurately.
Follow this race closely. The 2026 LA mayoral race may be a preview of what every major election looks like in the near future. How voters, regulators, and platforms respond to Pratt’s AI ads will set precedents that matter far beyond Los Angeles.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are Spencer Pratt’s AI campaign videos legal?
As of May 2026, the legal landscape around AI-generated political content in the United States remains unsettled. While some states have introduced legislation requiring disclosure when AI is used in political advertising, federal law has not yet established clear standards. Whether any specific Pratt campaign video violates existing campaign finance or election law is a question that legal experts and regulators are actively evaluating in real time. The controversy has added urgency to calls for clearer legislative guidelines.
What exactly do the AI videos show?
The most viral video uses a Batman-inspired theme to portray Spencer Pratt as a heroic savior of Los Angeles. Mayor Karen Bass is depicted as the Joker, Governor Gavin Newsom appears as a French aristocrat eating cake, and Kamala Harris is shown in an unflattering caricature. All of these depictions are AI-generated synthetic imagery — not real footage of any of the individuals involved.
How has Mayor Karen Bass responded?
Mayor Bass publicly condemned the AI-generated ads on May 13, 2026, stating that they were “taking on a violent” tone and spreading misinformation. Her remarks were covered widely, including by CNN, which shared them across its social media platforms where they generated thousands of comments and reactions.
Could AI attack ads become common in other political races?
Political experts believe this is very likely. The Spencer Pratt AI video moment has demonstrated that AI-generated political content can achieve massive viral reach at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising. If the approach proves effective in boosting a candidate’s profile and poll numbers — as some analysts suggest it already has for Pratt — other campaigns in other races will take notice and replicate the strategy.
What is a deepfake, and are Pratt’s videos deepfakes?
A deepfake typically refers to AI-generated video or audio that realistically depicts a real person saying or doing something they did not actually say or do, often by mapping their likeness onto synthetic footage. Pratt’s videos appear to be stylized AI-generated content that caricatures real political figures rather than realistic impersonations of actual events, placing them in a gray zone between traditional political satire and the more technically deceptive category of deepfakes. The controversy around them, however, has reignited concern about the broader deepfake threat in electoral politics.
If you found this breakdown helpful, share it with someone who wants to understand where AI and politics are headed — this story is only going to get bigger.
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