West Hollywood councilman accused of running fake Instagram account targeting rival candidate

In the contentious Democratic primary for California’s 24th Senate district, West Hollywood Councilmember John Erickson faced accusations of operating a counterfeit Instagram profile that portrayed reality-TV personality Spencer Pratt as a supporter of his rival, Brian Goldsmith. The page, named “Pratt Voters 4 Goldsmith,” claimed to be a coalition of Pratt fans, displayed both U.S. and Israeli flags, and posted inflammatory statements linking criticism of Goldsmith to antisemitism and denying a Gaza genocide.

The allegation originated from Zennon Ulyate-Crow, a Gen-Z Democrat who finished last in the June primary and later endorsed Goldsmith, who said he linked the bogus account to Erickson by using Instagram’s block-and-unblock function, though he did not provide visual proof. Erickson flatly rejected the claim, demanding concrete evidence and questioning Ulyate-Crow’s motives after the latter endorsed his opponent. Goldsmith’s campaign denounced the anonymous account as a hateful attempt to exploit his Jewish identity for political gain. The fabricated Instagram account was subsequently removed, and neither Pratt nor Erickson offered further comment.