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Socialist mayoral candidate ignites online mockery for touting basic city service

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Schemmel, A. (2026, August 28). Socialist mayoral candidate ignites online mockery for touting basic city service. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/socialist-mayoral-candidate-ignites-online-mockery-basic-city-service

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Fox News · collected 2026-08-28 · by Alec Schemmel

Quick Summary

Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is facing online mockery for celebrating a newly painted neighborhood crosswalk that took nine months to complete. Critics, including Richard Grenell and former mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, are ridiculing her for touting what they consider basic city services as major accomplishments. The project was first raised by the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council late last year, but Raman's office did not provide specifics on the cost, timeline, or safety improvements made beyond the painted markings. Grenell and others have compared the project to "street infrastructure" that is laughably minor.
Written by AI on 2026-08-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is facing online criticism for celebrating the completion of a neighborhood crosswalk project. The project, which was first proposed by the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council in late 2022, involved painting yellow stripes over a cracked street. Raman posted about the project on X, thanking her field team for their work and sharing before-and-after images. However, critics such as Richard Grenell, a former Presidential Envoy, and Spencer Pratt, a former L.A. mayoral candidate, have mocked Raman's celebration of what they see as a basic city service that took 9 months to complete. The project was criticized for not actually fixing the street, but rather just painting over the cracks.

Written for “Socialist Mayoral Candidate” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Socialist Mayoral Candidate
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Are they Democrat socialists or just deadbeat scammers? Different event
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 5 of 11 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles report on different incidents of Democratic Socialists being criticized for unrelated reasons”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
14
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-28 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6304 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Alec Schemmel
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 33 articles by Alec Schemmel →

Topics

L.A. Los Angeles Manhattan Institute's the Democratic Socialists of America the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council

Subjects

Los Angeles GPE · 2× Raman PERSON · 2× the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council ORG · 2× Donald Trump's PERSON · 1× L.A. GPE · 1× Nithya PERSON · 1× Nithya Raman PERSON · 1× Nithya Raman's PERSON · 1× Richard Grenell PERSON · 1× the Democratic Socialists of America ORG · 1×

Narrative

Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is facing online mockery after celebrating the completion of a neighborhood crosswalk project, which was first raised by the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council late last year, in a post on X. The post featured before-and-after images and thanked her field team for "continuing to problem-solve, push for solutions, and make our streets safer."
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-28
🔮 Nithya Raman's big accomplishment is taking 9 months to paint 7 yellow stripes over a cracked street?" quipped former L.A. mayoral candidate and reality television star Spencer Pratt.
2026-08-28 · Fox News
Socialist mayoral candidate ignites online mockery for touting basic city service · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 0 hedged)

A Los Angeles councilwoman’s celebration of a newly painted neighborhood crosswalk has drawn online mockery after critics seized on the months-long timeline and glossy "street infrastructure" rollout for what they said amounted to a basic city service. asserted
they → paint → service
Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is facing online mockery after celebrating the completion of a neighborhood crosswalk project, which was first raised by the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council late last year, in a post on X. The post featured before-and-after images and thanked her field team for "continuing to problem-solve, push for solutions, and make our streets safer." asserted
streets → face → solutions
Your standards are so incredibly low," responded Richard Grenell, Presidential Envoy for Special Missions amid Donald Trump's second term. asserted
Grenell → respond → term
"They didn’t even fix the street, they painted over cracks. asserted
they → fix → cracks
And it took them a year….. asserted
it → take → year
Nithya Raman's big accomplishment is taking 9 months to paint 7 yellow stripes over a cracked street?" quipped former L.A. mayoral candidate and reality television star Spencer Pratt. asserted
Pratt → take → street
"How dumb do you have to be to post this? asserted
you → have → this
" "This is beyond parody," responded conservative commentator Ben Shapiro. asserted
Shapiro → respond → parody
Make her mayor!" asserted
her → make → ?
"They're calling it the most ambitious infrastructure project since the Golden Gate Bridge," added the Manhattan Institute's Chris Rufo. asserted
Rufo → call → Bridge
Fox News Digital reached out to Raman’s office and Pratt for comment but did not receive a response before publication. asserted
Digital → reach → publication
Raman’s announcement labeled the work "Improving Our Neighborhood Street Infrastructure" and included before-and-after photos showing yellow crosswalk markings across the cracked roadway. asserted
announcement → label → roadway
She said the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council had brought the issue to her office in late 2025. asserted
Council → say → 2025
The post did not specify the project’s cost, when physical work began, which city department performed it or whether the work involved safety improvements beyond the painted markings. asserted
work → specify → markings
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