# Batman, AI and the LA mayor’s race: Spencer Pratt videos spark backlash and legal debate > Source: > Published: 2026-05-28 14:59:18+00:00 **Getting your** [Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...Artificial Intelligence-generated videos portraying Los Angeles mayoral candidate [Spencer Pratt](https://www.dailynews.com/2026/05/04/spencer-pratt-los-angeles-mayor-candidate-2026-primary-election-questionnaire/) as heroic pop-culture figures have exploded across social media in recent weeks, fueling online buzz about his campaign while raising new questions about how California laws apply to AI-generated political content. In [one widely shared video](https://x.com/charliebcurran/status/2051647381981290697), Pratt appears as Batman confronting a Joker-inspired version of [Mayor Karen Bass](https://www.dailynews.com/2026/05/04/karen-bass-los-angeles-mayor-candidate-2026-primary-election-questionnaire/) as Los Angeles burns around them. The clip also depicts Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic political figures feasting as the city descends into chaos. [Councilmember Nithya Raman](https://www.dailynews.com/2026/05/04/nithya-raman-los-angeles-mayor-candidate-2026-primary-election-questionnaire/), another mayoral candidate, is portrayed in one scene as a puppet on strings controlled by a dark-robed figure bearing the letters “DSA,” referring to Democratic Socialists of America. Another [“Star Wars”-inspired clip](https://x.com/charliebcurran/status/2053828567574991052) depicts Pratt as Luke Skywalker speeding through the city in an effort to save Los Angeles, while an AI-generated Newsom — portrayed as Emperor Palpatine — tells Bass she failed to “finish burning the city to the ground” during her first term and should “finish the job” in her second. Bass, dressed as Darth Vader, replies, “The only thing that can stop us is someone telling the truth.” Many of the viral videos were created by filmmaker Charlie Curran and later reposted by Pratt on his own social media accounts. *The Southern California News Group* sought comment from Curran, but his representative declined an interview request. The videos have since drawn criticisms from Pratt’s political opponents and their allies. “Spencer Pratt is running a campaign of AI slop and MAGA support, Karen Bass is running on delivering results for Angelenos,” Bass campaign spokesperson Alex Stack said in a statement Tuesday. Raman’s campaign also criticized Pratt’s embrace of AI-generated political content, arguing that Hollywood makers already are facing economic disruption connected to artificial intelligence. “Hollywood jobs are being devastated by AI, meanwhile Spencer Pratt is using his platform to promote AI-generated content, amplifying the very technology replacing the workers he claims to care about,” Raman said in a statement Tuesday. “Our videos are made by working film and television professionals who believe Los Angeles can be better.” The Pratt campaign pointed to [the candidate’s prior CNN interview with Elex Michaelson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJVQeeeFJck), in which Pratt said many of the videos were created by outside supporters and suggested he reposts large volumes of supporter-generated content online without necessarily reviewing every clip in detail. “I’m excited that anybody is sharing anything that they feel like is positive,” Pratt said. He also dismissed criticism from Bass that some of the imagery promoted violence, calling those concerns “the funniest thing I’ve ever heard” from a mayor he blamed for the city’s response to the [Palisades fire](https://www.dailynews.com/tag/palisades-fire/), which killed 12 people and destroyed Pratt’s home. Pratt’s campaign did not directly address *t*his news organization’s questions regarding whether any of the videos were coordinated with outside creators. [In a separate CNN interview with Michaelson,](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MroVv0TbzdA) Bass described the videos’ “violent trend” as “very scary.” “His social media is now taking on a violent turn and that worries me,” Bass said, “because when you do that, and when your messages are so hateful, or when you demonize people, then you do provoke people who are unstable, and you can jeopardize people’s safety.” Neither Bass nor Raman’s campaigns appear to have embraced comparable AI-generated campaign videos during the race. California lawmakers in recent years have approved multiple bills aimed at regulating AI-generated political content. In 2024, Newsom signed [Assembly Bill 2355](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2355), requiring a campaign committee that “creates … or originally distributes a qualified political advertisement” that was AI-generated, or where content was substantially altered using AI, to clearly label it as such. Former Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, who authored that bill, said arguments that the law doesn’t apply to political content created by a third party, which is then reshared by a candidate or campaign, is a loophole that should be closed. Carrillo, who said she supports Bass for mayor, said in an interview that AI-generated content has become more easily available since she authored her bill. “If the general public can easily create content for campaigns, they can also be informed of the legal implications that they are involving themselves in in creating them and then gifting them to a campaign,” Carrillo said. “It just requires a disclaimer.” Another California law, [AB 972](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB972), says that a person or committee shall not, within 60 days of an election, “distribute, with actual malice, materially deceptive audio or visual media” regarding a candidate “with the intent to injure the candidate’s reputation or to deceive a voter into voting for or against the candidate” unless it includes a statement disclosing that the content had been manipulated. There are some exceptions, though, including for content that “constitutes satire or parody.” Cal State Long Beach political science professor Matt Lesenyie, an expert on political psychology, said [one of Curran’s videos that Pratt reshared on social media](https://x.com/spencerpratt/status/2054277602588946492?s=46) – which depicted an AI-generated Bass walking down a street as the city burned in the aftermath of the Palisades fire, and another scene of her walking by a homeless encampment while talking about her accomplishments – was “over the top” and “shot like a satire.” So should disclosure laws apply to that video? Lesenyie said the law must continue to evolve to address rapidly changing technology and clarify what’s permissible. “We’re in a moment where we’re feeling like, ‘Hey, is that OK?’” he said. “People push beyond the envelope and new technology has come out.” But, he said, “the law’s not there yet” to address emerging concerns. Whether there will be further regulations may depend partly on whether legislators have an appetite to clarify the rules. If current lawmakers think they may want to employ AI tools in their own campaigns in the future, Lesenyie said, they may be reluctant to regulate this space. Regardless of if or how quickly lawmakers move to clarify the rules, experts said the Pratt videos illustrate how generative AI is making highly-stylized political storytelling faster, cheaper and easier to circulate online. Karen North, a USC Annenberg professor and digital social media expert, said the videos work in part because they translate complicated political frustrations into emotionally simple, highly shareable narratives built around familiar hero-versus-villain archetypes. “You can take his words, his demeanor and his issues and turn them into a superhero versus his opponents who would then be the villains,” North said. “ And it’s very easy – and what they would call in terms of social media – ‘snackable content’. People can snack on it and sort of enjoy it.” She said that this type of simplified, emotionally-charged political storytelling can function like powerful soundbites that are “very easy to consume and very easy to agree with.” North said the videos differ from more alarming forms of AI-generated misinformation because viewers generally recognize them as exaggerated political satire rather than realistic deepfakes designed to trick audiences into believing fabricated events actually occurred. “We have to distinguish between AI-generated creative ads versus deepfakes and misinformation,” she said. North said viewers generally understand the videos as stylized political satire rather than literal depictions of reality. Still, she said the videos can strongly shape how audiences emotionally process candidates and political issues because storytelling and familiar hero-versus-villain archetypes are often easier for voters to absorb than lengthy policy debates. “It doesn’t take a lot of deep thought to understand the message in ‘Star Wars,’ or in Superman or Batman, and this is a story being told in the same way,” she said. “We are hardwired to understand the messages that are in stories.” Longtime political analyst Dan Schnur said Pratt has used both his debate performances and viral online content to significantly elevate his profile in the race. “It’s always going to be a very steep uphill fight for a registered Republican in a deep blue city like Los Angeles,” Schnur said. “But he’s attracting more attention and has emerged as a potentially viable contender.” The videos also have triggered backlash from some progressive and women’s advocacy groups. Women’s March Action, which has endorsed Bass in the mayoral race, announced plans Tuesday for a news conference today condemning what it described as “racist, misogynistic and violent political tactics” directed at Bass through AI-generated imagery and online attacks. “This behavior is dangerous for everyone and cannot be ignored or normalized, whether in politics or elsewhere,” Emiliana Guereca, founder and executive director of Women’s March Action, said in a statement Tuesday. The group said it organized the event because it believes the videos normalize misogyny, violent imagery and fabricated political content targeting Bass, the city’s first woman and first woman of color elected mayor. The backlash also has underscored the broader uncertainty surrounding how AI-generated political content will be regulated as campaigns, supporters and online creators increasingly blur the boundaries between satire, political advocacy and misinformation. Although veteran Sacramento lobbyist Chris Micheli hasn’t followed the L.A. mayoral race closely, he said, speaking more generally, that it’s harder to impose regulations on the speech of an individual as opposed to a candidate or their campaign. “When it comes to free speech and political campaigns, laws and regulations are viewed very strictly as to whether or not they might infringe upon somebody’s First Amendment rights to advocate in the political arena,” Micheli said.