When former reality‑TV personality Spencer Pratt shared a video on X, it spread rapidly, prompting many to assume it was a conventional political advertisement. Prominent figures such as Jeb Bush and former congressman Matt Gaetz praised it, the former calling it “maybe the best political ad of the year” and the latter describing it as “a maximalist expression of what a political ad can do.”
The video, however, is not a traditional campaign spot. Pratt, a registered Republican, is indeed running for mayor of Los Angeles, and the clip echoes his outsider narrative that the city suffers under ineffective leadership. But the footage was actually produced by Los Angeles‑based filmmaker Charlie Curran using generative AI. Curran’s recent portfolio includes a surreal piece of the Pope dancing to drill rapper Chief Keef and a short featuring the “Rizzler” flying a sortie over Iran.
In the AI‑generated short, Los Angeles is portrayed as Gotham City, with incumbent Democratic mayor Karen Bass cast as the Joker. A figure resembling Joe Rogan—dressed like Commissioner Gordon—activates a searchlight bearing the “SP” emblem. The signal triggers Pratt to appear in black armor, cape, and gloves reminiscent of Batman, swooping in to “save” a dystopian Los Angeles from its Democratic “captors.”
Creating a comparable video through conventional means would have required actors, sets, costumes, permits, a production crew, and legal clearances for the intellectual property involved—expenses that would likely necessitate a political action committee and extensive disclosures. With generative AI, creators can now produce such elaborate visual narratives with far fewer resources, raising new questions about authenticity, consent, and the role of technology in modern political communication.