Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman has filed an ethics complaint against a political group backing Mayor Karen Bass after it plastered the city with fake real estate advertisements.
The move comes after audacious satirical posters sprung up promising homeless encampments and even designated ‘poop zones’ in local neighborhoods.
The complaint targets Thrive LA, an advocacy group that has mocked the city councilwoman’s record on homelessness with signs, social media videos, and an artificial intelligence phone line that impersonates her.
Raman’s campaign alleges the group violated five political advertising disclosure requirements and wants city officials to intervene before voters head to the polls on November 3, according to the New York Post.
The group’s advertisements promote a fictional real estate business called ‘Nithya Raman Realty,’ portraying the mayoral candidate as someone eager to bring homeless encampments into residential neighborhoods.
One advertisement warns residents that a ‘Designated Poop Zone’ could soon arrive near their homes. Others feature tents, needles and crime in an attack on Raman’s handling of homelessness.
Thrive also sent a battered recreational vehicle through Los Angeles carrying advertisements targeting the councilwoman.
But Raman’s campaign has raised some of its strongest objections to the group’s use of artificial intelligence.
The group’s advertisements promote a fictional real estate business called ‘Nithya Raman Realty,’ portraying the mayoral candidate as someone eager to bring homeless encampments into residential neighborhoods
Raman’s campaign alleges the group violated five political advertising disclosure requirements and wants city officials to intervene before voters head to the polls on November 3
The advertisements direct residents to a telephone number where an AI-generated voice, designed to sound like Raman, engages callers in conversations about where homeless encampments should be located.
When the Daily Mail asked the caller to identify themselves as Raman, the AI bot replied: ‘I’m a fictional AI. I’m as imaginary as my campaign promises.’
Raman’s campaign argues the technology could mislead voters, especially if callers are not immediately told they are interacting with artificial intelligence rather than the real candidate.
However, the group’s executive director, Ana Teresa Dahan, described the campaign as political satire protected by the First Amendment.
She also rejected the suggestion that the advertisements were intended to deceive voters, arguing that the exaggerated messages made their satirical nature clear.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, Dahan said:
‘When your record is this bad, the satire writes itself. And when someone points that out, apparently you call the ethics hotline. Nithya Raman wants to run the second-largest city in America, and she can’t handle a parody phone number. Imagine how she’d handle a budget crisis, or a wildfire.’
Dahan showed no signs of mercy or slowing down, adding:
‘The only real complaint here is the one Angelenos have about her record. Between now and Election Day, we’ll keep making the films, running the ads and holding the press conferences that put the people who’ve lived under her leadership in front of voters. She can file as many complaints as she wants. We’ll keep telling the truth about her record.’
The Daily Mail contacted the offices of Nithya Raman and Karen Bass for comment.
