ALT Rolling Stone article header. A red label at the top reads COMMENTARY. The headline: 'Spencer Pratt Summer Ends in June Gloom.' The subheadline: 'The reality star finishes third in the race for Los Angeles mayor, and the conspiracies are flying.' By Stephen Rodrick, June 10, 2026.

ALT Excerpt from the Rolling Stone article. It reads: 'All the Pratt hype became a self-fulfilling prophecy in right-wing circles. It's not a new story. If your media diet tells you repeatedly that Pratt's campaign is rewriting the very future of political campaigns, you will be inclined to disregard the fact that Donald Trump only scored 32 percent of the vote in Los Angeles County in 2024. You will believe Pratt when he tells you he is going to get over 50 percent and avoid a runoff entirely. You will see the fact that Pratt raised $3.75 million as proof of concept and disregard the fact that only 17 percent of that came from L.A. residents.

ALT "Excerpt from the Rolling Stone article. It reads: 'Social media fueled the concept that Pratt couldn't lose. The phrase Twitter is not real life is a cliché and yet every year we seem to forget it. Yes, Pratt-associated AI ads were everywhere, but only if you were terminally online.'

ALT Screenshot of The Free Press website. The header shows The Free Press logo. The page is an article titled "Inside Spencer Pratt's Viral Video Machine," dated June 3, 2026, by Austyn Jeffs, with the subheading: "The former reality star's campaign has become an online phenomenon. Austyn Jeffs met one creator powering Pratt's surge with viral AI ads." The featured image shows a man in a green t-shirt reading "pratt" speaking into a microphone with one arm raised, with a caption overlay reading "Who's having a Pratt summer?"