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

Spencer Pratt speaks during an appearance on "Fox & Friends" at Fox News headquarters on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP) Andy Kropa/AP/Invision hide caption toggle caption Andy Kropa/AP/Invision To Spencer Pratt and his supporters, becoming mayor of Los Angeles first means winning the internet. 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. A screenshot of a artificial intelligence video created by a supporter of Spencer Pratt. Charlie Curran via Twitter hide caption toggle caption Charlie Curran via Twitter 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. …