AI-Assisted Lobbying Campaign Pressures California AG Over Paramount Merger

A pro-merger advocacy group is utilizing artificial intelligence to pressure California Attorney General Rob Bonta to drop an antitrust lawsuit blocking the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. The effort marks a contentious intersection of AI technology and political lobbying as the entertainment giants fight for regulatory approval.

The group, calling itself "Neighbors for Strong Communities," has deployed AI to craft personalized letters to Bonta's office. These communications are designed to simulate grassroots support for the deal. Some contributors, such as actor and voice-over artist Avrielle Corti, argue that removing Paramount from California would be "like taking the Golden Gate Bridge and putting it in Nebraska."

Critics and outlets such as Techdirt have labeled the campaign a corporate "astroturfing" effort—a term for fake grassroots movements funded by corporations. However, the group's co-founder, Tanner Kelly, denies these claims. Kelly, who also founded Influent—a vendor that uses AI to help Fortune 100 companies mobilize grassroots movements—insists the process is not fraudulent. "Nothing we do is AI-generated. It's AI-assisted," Kelly stated, maintaining that the letters represent real people telling their own stories.

The High Stakes of the Merger

The pressure campaign arrives as the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal faces significant legal hurdles. The urgency is driven by a strict timeline; CEO David Ellison has threatened to move Paramount's operations out of California if the merger is not finalized by October 1. This threat is tied to a $7 million-per-day "ticking fee" owed to Warner Bros. investors, creating a high-pressure environment for state regulators.

A New Era of Digital Lobbying

This incident highlights a growing trend of using AI to simulate public sentiment, a practice that has already drawn legislative scrutiny in California. Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed AB 1736, a law specifically prohibiting lobbyist employers from using fake comments to influence political outcomes. The Paramount case underscores the difficulty regulators now face in distinguishing between genuine constituent concerns and sophisticated, AI-enhanced corporate influence campaigns.

Funding and Legitimacy

While the use of AI-assisted tools is confirmed, the direct financial link between Paramount and Neighbors for Strong Communities remains a point of contention. Opponents claim the group is a corporate front, but direct funding from Paramount has not been independently verified, and leadership continues to deny such ties. Observers are now watching to see if the California Attorney General's office views these AI-assisted letters as legitimate public input or as a violation of the spirit of the state's new anti-lobbying laws.