Nithya Raman’s campaign is pushing back against a political group that is mocking her record on homelessness. They’re using fake real estate signs, a dilapidated RV, and even a phone line featuring AI that impersonates her.
The campaign filed an ethics complaint on Sunday, claiming that Thrive LA committed five disclosure violations and is pressing for action ahead of the November 3 election.
Thrive, on the other hand, denies any wrongdoing. They accuse Raman of attempting to silence her critics with this complaint.
The conflict began when Thrive released ads for a fictional “Nithya Raman Realty,” showcasing an AI-generated version of Raman who says, “We got A Tent to Give You!” and includes warnings about “Needles, Crime, Tents, Zero Accountability.”
One ad even announces a “Designated Poop Zone” coming soon to a neighborhood nearby.
Additionally, Thrive sent an old RV through Los Angeles, which resembles the many battered vehicles seen throughout the city.
Ana Teresa Dahan, the executive director of Thrive, described the campaign as political satire. She mentioned that the group’s spending and advertising were reported to the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, which has independently verified the public filings.
“They wouldn’t have known it was us if we hadn’t put the disclosure,” Dahan told The Post on Monday.
“We’re a small organization, so we had to be scrappy,” she added.
However, Raman’s campaign argues that the issues extend beyond the signs. They point out that the mock real estate ads contain a phone number answered by an AI voice mimicking Raman, engaging callers in discussions about homelessness.
When The Post called the number, they encountered a woman’s voice asking questions, including where the caller might prefer to set up a tent.
This back-and-forth interaction appeared to mock Raman’s policies on homelessness.
During the call, the voice did not indicate that Thrive was behind the advertisement or that it was an AI-generated message, which Raman’s camp believes should be disclosed to callers.
“Our argument is it needs to be a disclaimer. There is not,” a campaign representative explained, insisting that the ad should be removed.
The complaint also mentions a network of Instagram accounts alleged to be promoting anti-Raman videos to a wide audience without revealing who funded them.
Among these accounts is @males_hub_, which has around 1.2 million followers, and @ratchethoodvideos, which has 806,000. The content includes Thrive’s mock real estate signs and the battered RV, with phrases like “Want an encampment down the block? Nithya’s your vote.”
Raman’s team claims these posts were part of a planned effort to make paid political advertising look like regular viral content, without the necessary disclosures.
Public records indicate that Thrive reported spending $53,800 on digital advertising and paying $81,200 to a print advertising vendor.
The ethics complaint acknowledges that while the five identified signs do have written disclaimers listing Thrive as the sponsor, Raman’s campaign argues that these disclosures do not address the issues related to the AI phone line, Instagram videos, and other advertising tactics.
The Ethics Commission has yet to make a determination regarding the complaint.
