North argues that Pratt’s meteoric rise is not because of these AI videos, but rather the effective way in which he criticized the city’s handling of last year’s Palisades fires, in which Pratt’s house was one of many that burned down. His storytelling, she says, has allowed him to express his clear message about how he believes L.A.’s leadership failed him, and the city as a whole.
“You can only imagine when you look at the voters, how angry a lot of people are out here,” she says, referencing the Los Angeles fires and the aftermath.
The appeal for using this kind of AI for political messaging is, in part, because it is much cheaper than traditional advertisements, North says, but also because there is a belief that some social media sites may be artificially boosting AI content.
“Things that are created by AI are suspected to have a boost on some of these platforms, like TikTok and the places where a lot of this Spencer Pratt content is getting a lot of visibility,” she continued. “So you have something created mechanically that’s then recognized by another mechanical tool to promote it.”
