{"slug": "scott-wiener-forced-into-screeching-u-turn-after-nancy-pelosi-raged-at-connie", "title": "Scott Wiener forced into screeching U-turn after Nancy Pelosi raged at Connie Chan ads", "summary": "California state Sen. Scott Wiener announced Friday that his campaign will remove the ConnieChan.ai chatbot and its billboards after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a coalition of Democrats condemned the AI parody targeting congressional rival Connie Chan. Wiener acknowledged the tactic backfired, saying the conversation became about the tactic instead of issues like housing and transit. Chan's campaign spokesperson Ian Krager said Wiener can take down his 'bigotry bot' but cannot erase concerns about his character and judgment.", "body_md": "# Scott Wiener forced into screeching U-turn after Nancy Pelosi raged at Connie Chan ads\n\nSee more of our coverage in your search results.\n\n[Add The California Post on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=nypost.com)\n\nCalifornia state Sen. Scott Wiener is pulling the plug on a [controversial AI chatbot](https://nypost.com/2026/08/08/us-news/nancy-pelosi-rages-at-sexist-and-racist-ai-chatbot-mocking-her-would-be-successor/) and the billboards promoting it after his campaign faced a furious backlash over the parody targeting his [congressional rival Connie Chan](https://nypost.com/2026/08/05/us-news/nancy-pelosis-pick-for-congress-skewered-by-ai-chatbot/).\n\nWiener, who is running to replace former [House Speaker Nancy Pelosi](https://nypost.com/2026/08/08/us-news/nancy-pelosi-rages-at-sexist-and-racist-ai-chatbot-mocking-her-would-be-successor/) in San Francisco’s 11th Congressional District, announced Friday his campaign would remove ConnieChan.ai, along with the ads directing voters to it.\n\nThe chatbot was created as a campaign attack on Chan, portraying what Wiener said was her record on housing, public transportation and other issues.\n\nBut the stunt [quickly became a political headache](https://nypost.com/2026/07/16/us-news/scott-wiener-cashes-in-after-humiliating-video-being-chased-from-san-francisco-trans-march/), with Pelosi and a coalition of Democratic politicians and organizations condemning the use of artificial intelligence to imitate Chan.\n\nWiener said his campaign had intended the chatbot to be an unconventional way of drawing attention to what he characterized as Chan’s record of “delay and obstruction.”\n\n“My campaign created ConnieChan.ai as a parody to draw attention to my opponent’s record of delay and obstruction around housing, public transit, and other critical needs,” Wiener said in a statement.\n\n“Today, we are taking down the chatbot, and the billboards that promoted it will come down soon.”\n\nThe senator acknowledged that the campaign tactic had backfired, saying the controversy had overshadowed the issues he wanted voters to focus on.\n\n“But our use of an AI chatbot clearly missed the mark,” Wiener said. “The conversation became about the tactic instead of the issues that actually matter to San Franciscans — housing and health care they can afford, transit that works, schools that serve every kid, and a downtown that comes back stronger.”\n\nThe reversal came after Pelosi and other prominent Democrats piled on.\n\nIn a joint statement attributed to Pelosi, members of Congress, San Francisco supervisors and local Democratic groups objected to AI being used to put words into a female candidate’s mouth.\n\n“Women have spent generations fighting to have our own voices heard in the halls of power. We should not have to now fight against artificial intelligence putting words in our mouths.”\n\nThe group called the chatbot “a gross misuse of technology,” arguing that [using AI to fabricate a woman’s voice](https://nypost.com/2025/07/17/us-news/florida-woman-tricked-into-forking-over-15k-by-ai-cloning-her-daughters-voice-i-know-my-daughters-cry/) for political ridicule could reinforce sexist stereotypes and undermine women in public life.\n\nThe coalition also warned that AI-generated impersonations could damage public trust and urged political candidates not to use the technology to strip women of their identity or agency for electoral gain.\n\nChan’s campaign delivered its own broadside.\n\n“Scott Wiener can rightly take down his bigotry bot, but he can’t erase the concerns it raised among San Franciscans about his character and judgment,” Connie Chan spokesperson Ian Krager said in a statement to [KRON4](https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/scott-wiener-says-conniechan-ai-chatbot-campaign-billboards-to-be-removed/).\n\n“San Franciscans deserve better than a campaign funded by Big AI weaponizing the technology to mock an immigrant woman of color, doubling down after justified outrage, then reversing course and shrugging it off as simply ‘missing the mark.’\n\n“Connie Chan will keep her campaign focused on fighting for working families, affordable housing, reliable transit, and responsible AI — without turning San Francisco voters into a political experiment.”\n\nWiener later apologized to people who were offended, while noting that some supporters had liked the concept.\n\n“I heard from many people who loved the idea, and I appreciate their support,” Wiener said. “But many others were offended, and I apologize for causing that offense.”\n\nThe clash comes as Wiener and Chan head toward a November showdown for the seat Pelosi has held since 1987.\n\nWiener finished first in the June 2 primary, with roughly 41% of the vote, while Chan came in second, with about 30%, sending both candidates into the general election runoff on November 3.\n\n**Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters **\n\n**California Post News**: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/TheCaliforniaPost/), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/californiapost), [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@CaliforniaPost), [X](https://x.com/californiapost), [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@thecaliforniapost), [WhatsApp](https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6a2IV1NCrL6q2AWq0E), [LinkedIn](http://linkedin.com/company/californiapost)**California Post Sports** [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/capostsports/), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/capostsports/?hl=en), [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@capostsports), [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@CaliforniaPostSports), [X](https://x.com/capostsports)**California Post **[Opinion](https://x.com/californiapost) **California Post Newsletters**: [Sign up here!](https://email.nypost.com/#california-post)** California Post App**: [Download here!](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/california-post/id6751343487)** Home delivery**: [Sign up here!](https://subscribe.californiapost.com/defaultCAP)** Page Six Hollywood**: [Sign up here!](https://pagesix.com/hollywood-signup/)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/scott-wiener-forced-into-screeching-u-turn-after-nancy-pelosi-raged-at-connie", "canonical_source": "https://nypost.com/2026/08/09/us-news/scott-wiener-pulls-ai-chatbot-parody-of-rival-connie-chan-after-backlash/", "published_at": "2026-08-09 21:22:48+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-09 21:42:31.978013+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-ethics", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Scott Wiener", "Connie Chan", "Nancy Pelosi", "ConnieChan.ai", "Ian Krager", "KRON4", "San Francisco's 11th Congressional District"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/scott-wiener-forced-into-screeching-u-turn-after-nancy-pelosi-raged-at-connie", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/scott-wiener-forced-into-screeching-u-turn-after-nancy-pelosi-raged-at-connie.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/scott-wiener-forced-into-screeching-u-turn-after-nancy-pelosi-raged-at-connie.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/scott-wiener-forced-into-screeching-u-turn-after-nancy-pelosi-raged-at-connie.jsonld"}}