AI Reimagines Political Satire: Accountability Meets Hilarity

Picture the following. Kemi Badenoch dressed in a gold chain and puffa jacket that would rival J Hus,’ mercilessly dissing an audience of despondent Labour MPs. David Lammy strolling through a council estate in a Union Jack minidress and red stilettos, channelling his inner Ginger Spice. Or Starmer working at Maccy D’s. Well, we don’t have to imagine it anymore. Preposterous AI-generated videos of British politicians now routinely circulate the internet. And the mastermind behind them? The Crewkerne Gazette. Who’s Behind the Crewkerne Gazette? The Crewkerne Gazette is an anonymous group, run by someone who calls himself the ‘Crewkerne Man,’ that has created the fastest-growing AI political satire channel in the world. With a combined social media following of 97,000 across X, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok, their hilarious content is building bridges across the UK’s political divide, inviting us all, no matter which party we support, to laugh at the ridiculousness of our leaders. In fact, it has become so popular that its creators launched a bid for the highly-coveted Christmas No.1 spot on the charts. But let’s dive into some of the videos that turned a relatively unknown channel into a national treasure. Its first post to go truly viral was How Many Homes Can Rayner Buy? I’ll set the scene for you. It’s September 2025, and details had just emerged that our then-deputy PM underpaid stamp duty on her flat in Hove. Amidst the clamour of the internet, a smug, AI-generated Angela Rayner entered our feeds, kitted out in an Adidas tracksuit to brag about her numerous properties: ‘Bought me one house, bought me two, Flip another flat, taxman no clue. 80k saved with a Brighton tan, Dodgin’ more duty than the average man.’ Many of us probably didn’t realise it at the time, but this was the work of the Crewkerne Gazette. In the video, Rayner ‘danc[es] in the Commons hall,’ flaunts wads of cash, and raps while the ‘taxman cr[ies].’ Her gleeful and brazen AI persona was a marked contrast to her tearful real-life interview with journalist Beth Rigby, in which she admitted her ‘error.’ However, the Crewkerne Gazette’s spoof highlighted the seriousness of Rayner’s breach of the ministerial code, given that she was the Housing Secretary at the time. How could someone like her instruct the country on matters related to property when her own home was in disarray? Too often, there is one rule for us and another for our politicians, particularly when it comes to taxes, and the Crewkerne Gazette doesn’t shy away from reminding us of this predicament. The message clearly touched a nerve. The video became such a hit that it was covered by mainstream media, with articles appearing in The Daily Mail, BBC News, Sky News, The Sun and The Telegraph. To this day, it remains the channel’s most-liked post. But why has this content resonated with so many of us? A New Era of Satire Satire, defined as the use of humour and exaggeration to criticise people’s stupidity and vices, has existed for centuries. Some of the most famous novels ever written are works of satire, including Voltaire’s Candide, which ridiculed overly optimistic philosophers, and Orwell’s Animal Farm, which exposed the cruelty and hypocrisy of Stalin’s regime. Until recently, modern satire mainly existed in the form of cartoons or shows like Yes Minister, Have I Got News for You and South Park. But AI is breathing new life into the genre. And, because it is taking social media by storm, political satire is reaching a wider audience than ever before. During an interview with Sky News, one of the creators behind the Crewkerne Gazette criticised modern satire as being ‘tiresome,’ ‘stagnant’ and a genre that ‘doesn’t really engage younger people.’ However, this is something that the group have become ‘incredibly good at doing.’ With side-splittingly funny content in an easily-digestible format, the Crewkerne Gazette is attracting the age group most likely to suffer from political disillusionment and an indifference towards traditional media. Plus, it is refreshing to follow a channel with no political agenda, one that is just as likely to ridicule the kind of the Greens as it is the Maga overlord. For proof, take a look at its latest content. One video depicts Rachel Reeves as a shopping TV presenter, grinning inanely as she attempts to sell us a leak-proof Budget. Spoiler: she fails miserably. The following clips reveal ‘lost footage’ of schoolboy Farage remixing the Buzzcocks to fend off accusations of racism and Robert Jenrick rapping about his defection to Reform. Whenever a scandal emerges (and we’ve had plenty of them recently), the Crewkerne Gazette is there, poking fun at our politicians regardless of whether they are left or right-leaning. That’s Entertainment! Perhaps one of its best posts to date came at the height of the ‘prisons scandal’ back in November. At the time, Hadush Kebatu, a convicted sex offender from Ethiopia, had just been rearrested after being mistakenly released, while a further two prisoners remained at large. The Crewkerne Gazette’s response? An incredible rendition of a Britney Spears hit, starring an unapologetic justice secretary in a latex bodysuit and periwig: ‘Oops, I freed them again, Played dumb in the house, Then shouted in pain, Oh Lammy, Lammy! Oh, I said, “get a grip”, Blamed staff on the strip. I’m not that competent.’ While undeniably funny, the video lays bare the true extent of Lammy’s embarrassing lack of control over the state of our prisons. According to the Crewkerne Gazette, it was founded to: ‘Challenge the establishment and speak truth to power … giv[ing] people a reason to care again’ about politics. Oops, I Freed Them Again is a perfect example of how it nails that brief. We often hear of how artificial intelligence is used as a tool for distortion: spewing untruths, perpetuating harmful stereotypes and influencing impressionable teenagers. Now, thanks to the Crewkerne Gazette, we are reminded that AI can also be a force for good, offering unbiased satirical content which highlights the corruption amongst some of our political elite and holds them to account. Here’s to seeing more of Wes the Binge and Lammy Dodger in the future!