Spencer Pratt is 'winning the internet,' but can he become mayor of Los Angeles?

Spencer Pratt and supporters aim to win Los Angeles mayoral power by first winning online attention. Pratt has amplified outlandish artificial intelligence videos, including lightsaber duels with Karen Bass and Batman-style rescues during a burning Los Angeles. His campaign employs freelance editors to produce short social media clips of him attacking city leaders. He also promotes false claims about a nonexistent “super meth” problem and spreads incorrect narratives about California lawmakers’ response to the Palisades Fire. Pratt’s style borrows combative, mocking tactics common in fringe online forums associated with President Trump. The June 2 jungle primary will pit Pratt against incumbent Bass and progressive council member Nithya Raman, with runoff rules if no candidate exceeds 50%.

"Pratt has amplified outlandish artificial intelligence videos, including one depicting lightsaber duels between him and the city's current mayor, Karen Bass and another where he's portrayed as Batman descending on a burning Los Angeles to save the day; his campaign has tapped an army of freelance "clippers" to edit short social media snippets of him bashing the city's leaders; and he talks about nonexistent "super meth" plaguing the city's streets and pushed false narratives about California lawmakers' response to the Palisades Fire."

"It's perhaps no surprise that the 42-year-old former villain of the reality television show "The Hills" knows how to work the attention economy, but he's doing so by borrowing the combative and mocking style of politics popular in fringe online forums and celebrated by allies of President Trump. "He's probably the most Trumpian candidate we've ever seen in terms of house style," said Steve Bannon, Trump's former top adviser."

""Trump's superpower was bringing in people into politics who hate politics, and that's what he's doing online right now." Pratt's internet antics are up against long odds. On June 2, Angelenos will go to the polls for the city's "jungle primary," a nonpartisan contest where Pratt, a Republican, will face off against Democratic incumbent Bass and progressive council member Nithya Raman."

"If any candidate surpasses 50% of the vote, that person becomes mayor. If nobody does, the top two vote getters compete in a November runoff. Polls show Pratt and Raman neck and neck, with Bass commanding a comfortable lead. Yet Pratt is harnessing the web to shake things up. He has leapt into the usually more mundane world of municipal politics with brash and extreme rhetoric, taking to TikTok, with direct-to-camera videos condemning Bass' response to the devastating Pacific"

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