Reality check: Will online attention translate to real-life votes for Spencer Pratt in Los Angeles?

The viral, AI-generated video opens with the iconic Hollywood sign on fire and features Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass wearing makeup to look like the Joker.

The viral, AI-generated video opens with the iconic Hollywood sign on fire and features Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass wearing makeup to look like the Joker. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris feast with elites while a Batman-like figure moves through city streets fighting armed agents.

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The video, which now has over 5 million views on X alone, is just one of many produced to boost Republican Spencer Pratt’s candidacy in the Los Angeles mayoral race, where the former “The Hills” cast member has become the latest reality-TV star seeking to use his fame to propel him in politics.

Republicans are cheering him on, pointing to the videos that they say are building enthusiasm on the ground in a city where their party doesn’t often gain traction in local or statewide elections.