Love them or loathe them, the Spencer Pratt AI videos are the clearest preview yet of what a political campaign looks like in the age of generative video.
The Spencer Pratt AI videos turned a reality-TV punchline into one of the strangest storylines of the 2026 Los Angeles mayor’s race. In a matter of weeks, clips casting the former Hills star as a caped savior racked up millions of views. According to outlets from Time to NBC News, they helped push a self-described political novice into genuine contention.
How the Spencer Pratt AI Videos Took Over the LA Mayor’s Race
Indeed, the clips are hard to miss. For example, one casts Pratt as a Batman-like figure squaring off against a Joker-styled Mayor Karen Bass. Meanwhile, another stages a lightsaber duel while California Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris scheme in the background. A few play more like glossy music videos than political ads, with Pratt swooping in to rescue a dystopian Los Angeles. Reposted across X, the videos collected millions of views and turned a long-shot candidacy into a trending topic. Whatever you make of the politics, the Spencer Pratt AI videos proved a point. A single generative-video moment can swallow a local race.
Who Is Actually Making the Spencer Pratt AI Videos
Despite Pratt’s starring role, he says he is not the one producing them. The clips are largely the work of Charles “Charlie” Curran, a Los Angeles filmmaker who experiments with AI tools. That reporting comes from NBC News and The Free Press. Pratt has called the videos “fan-made,” once in a since-deleted Instagram clip. Yet he still reposts many of them on X, where he has over a million followers. He mixes them with his own “man-made” campaign content. That gap between “fan-made” and “campaign-approved” is exactly the murky territory the Spencer Pratt AI videos live in.
What the Clips Actually Show
Stylistically, the videos borrow straight from comic books and summer blockbusters. Pratt appears as a cape-wearing superhero; his rivals are recast as cartoon villains. In several, Bass is the antagonist while Newsom and Harris plot in the shadows. The tone is knowing and meme-friendly rather than subtle — and that is the point. These clips chase screenshots, quote-tweets, and arguments, not housing plans.
Why the Spencer Pratt AI Videos Are Working
Notably, the videos are not necessarily changing minds — they are buying attention. “Videos depicting candidates as characters from a movie franchise might not change many voters’ minds,” strategist Scott Babwah Brennen has noted. But they drive the “attention” and “conversation” that fuel fundraising and turnout. The numbers back that up: Pratt reportedly out-raised Mayor Bass by nearly ten-to-one in a recent reporting period. In a crowded field, name recognition is half the battle. The Spencer Pratt AI videos work like an always-on, near-zero-cost ad campaign.
The Backlash: “A Very Dangerous Trend”
Not everyone finds it funny. Mayor Bass described the viral AI clips to CNN as indicative of “a very dangerous trend.” Critics point to the obvious risks. Synthetic video blurs the line between satire and disinformation. Few clips carry clear labeling. And bad actors could easily turn the same tools to deceptive ends. The Spencer Pratt AI videos are openly absurd, which takes some of the sting out — but they also help normalize AI-generated politicians as ordinary campaign furniture.
Spencer Pratt AI Videos and the Future of Political Campaigns
Ultimately, what makes this bigger than one eccentric LA race is the template it sets. In fact, generative-video tools are now cheap, fast, and good enough to spin up a shareable clip in an afternoon. Still, regulation has not caught up: disclosure rules for AI political content remain patchy and differ from state to state. If a reality star can ride the Spencer Pratt AI videos into a runoff conversation, serious campaigns will study the playbook. Expect the next election cycle to feature a great deal more synthetic media.
What This Means for Voters and Creators
For voters, the lesson is media literacy: assume any too-perfect campaign clip might be synthetic, and check who actually made it before you share it. As a result, for creators the trend is a reminder of how powerful — and how easily misread — AI video has become. The very tools behind the Spencer Pratt AI videos are available to anyone with a browser. That access is both the promise and the problem.
Want More on AI Video and the Spencer Pratt AI Videos Trend?
Curious how creators make videos like the Spencer Pratt AI videos? Our roundup of the best free AI video generators in 2026 breaks down the tools behind that cinematic footage. No film crew required. And for a closer look at the kind of model many viral political clips lean on, see our breakdown of the Sora 2 AI video generator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who makes the Spencer Pratt AI videos?
Most of the viral clips are the work of Charles “Charlie” Curran, a Los Angeles filmmaker who experiments with AI tools, per NBC News and The Free Press. Pratt has called them “fan-made” rather than campaign-produced, even as he reposts many on X.
Are the Spencer Pratt AI videos official campaign ads?
Not exactly. Pratt calls the clips fan-made and distinguishes them from his own “man-made” campaign content. Still, the line is blurry: he amplifies the videos to more than a million followers on X, giving them campaign-level reach without formally being campaign products.
What do the Spencer Pratt AI videos actually show?
They lean hard into comic-book and blockbuster tropes. Pratt appears as a cape-wearing superhero, while rivals like Mayor Karen Bass become villains and figures like Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris scheme in the background. The style is meme-friendly and built to be shared.
Did the AI videos actually help Spencer Pratt's campaign?
Experts say the clips work more by capturing attention than by changing minds. They drove enormous conversation, and Pratt reportedly out-raised Mayor Bass nearly ten-to-one in a recent reporting period. In a crowded race, that momentum is exactly what a long-shot candidate needs.
Are AI-generated political campaign videos legal?
In most places they are not outright banned, but the rules are inconsistent. Disclosure requirements for AI-generated political content vary by state and remain patchy, which is part of why the Spencer Pratt AI videos have become a test case for how synthetic media should be labeled and regulated.
Why do critics call AI political videos a “dangerous trend”?
Mayor Karen Bass described the viral AI clips to CNN as “a very dangerous trend.” Critics worry that synthetic video blurs satire and disinformation, that clips often lack clear labeling, and that the same tools could just as easily deceive voters.
*Sources: Time, The Free Press, NBC News, CBS News, Yahoo Entertainment, The Christian Science Monitor, The Hollywood Reporter*
