BALTIMORE — Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming is acknowledging a misstep after posting a link to a YouTube video that included an AI-generated image of Mayor Brandon Scott, triggering an ethics complaint from City Hall and reviving questions about how far protected speech extends for the city’s top watchdog.

Cumming told The Baltimore Sun she shared a third-party video commentary on her personal Facebook page April 20, noting she “did not notice and [does] not endorse” the cartoon image of Mayor Scott included. She removed the post after receiving feedback and issued an apology to the mayor, her staff and Baltimore residents.

“I apologize to Mayor Scott, my dedicated OIG team, and the residents of Baltimore,” Cumming said. “This post detracted from the important mission of the OIG to investigate waste, financial abuse and fraud. It will not happen again.”

The video link, which came from a YouTube channel known as Hannibal Is Hungry, featured a manipulated image depicting Scott with a cigar in his mouth, surrounded by stacks of money and a designer bag while holding a cup of brown liquor and several shopping bags. The channel has previously circulated misleading or selectively edited content about public figures, largely relying on clips from local Baltimore news outlets.

Cumming’s post included the caption: “A friend send [sic] me this very interesting video from YouTube – ties many things together.”

Mayor’s Office asks for investigation

In a letter, Scott’s chief of staff, John David Merrill, notified the Baltimore City Board of Ethics, calling for an investigation and arguing that Cumming appeared to endorse content that mischaracterized the mayor and city agencies.

The letter, which The Sun received through a public information act request, also questioned Cumming’s broader use of social media, citing posts and follows tied to partisan political commentary and suggesting concerns about the inspector general’s perceived independence.

“[Cumming] appears to endorse the message included in the video, which includes numerous inaccuracies and mischaracterizations,” Merrill wrote. “Together, the insinuations in the video, paired with the fake image, is clear and it is deeply inappropriate, misleading, damaging, and racist.

“We are now confronted with the reality that IG Cumming has not remained independent from other political interference — nor prevented personal motivation — to influence her oversight work,” he added.

Merrill declared that the inspector general should not use her social media account to thank partisan political groups, repeating partisan catchphrases like “fraud is fraud” and sharing “racially charged” talking points.

Multiple exhibits are used as examples of Cumming’s biased social media posting, including Cumming following multiple pro-Trump MAGA social media accounts, engaging in personal advocacy via social media and endorsing conservative figures like YouTuber Nick Shirley.

The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of an ongoing legal fight between Cumming and the mayor’s office over the independence of the inspector general’s office. Cumming sued the city earlier this year after access to certain records was restricted following a state audit. A Baltimore judge recently allowed that lawsuit to proceed.

At the same time, the Ethics Board has already weighed related questions about Cumming’s online conduct. In a September ruling, the board rejected claims that her social media activity constituted official misconduct, finding she was acting “as a natural person, public figure and engaged citizen,” and therefore engaging in protected speech.

The board has not responded to The Sun’s questions about whether members plan to open an investigation into this case.

Hannibal Is Hungry’s misinformation

The Hannibal Is Hungry video includes several pieces of misinformation, including claims that the city is not planning tax relief for any residents, and omits that the city’s law department cut Cumming’s access to records following a state audit.

At the State of the City address, Scott announced a tax debt relief pilot program for seniors alongside grants for renters and homeowners.

The video incorrectly declares that agencies focused on opioid overdose prevention and vacant housing are separate from the Mayor’s Office and implies that the Mayor’s Office is a singular entity that does not work with other city agencies.

Mayor Scott addressed the Hannibal Is Hungry video during Wednesday’s Board of Estimates hearing on the FY2027 budget, discussing how many different offices are housed within the Mayoral Offices.

“You’re talking about the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, MONSE, agencies that were created by council ordinance, like the council president [and] vice president put the law in for the Mayor’s Office of older adult advocacy and affairs,” he said.

The mayor also addressed the job increases included in the Hannibal Is Hungry video, which highlighted that 16 jobs were added in the FY2027 budget.

“The reality is that half of them, eight of them, are not funded by taxpayers of Baltimore City,” Scott said. “They’re grant funded, and one of them in particular, for the Office of Performance and Innovation, which runs CitiStat, that we know that Councilman Conway had legislation around.”

The mayor also said a new position for the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs is directly funded by the Opioid Restitution Fund, which is funded by successful lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies and is separate from the city budget and taxpayer dollars.

_____

(Sun reporter Ruben Castaneda contributed to this story.)

_____

©2026 The Baltimore Sun. Visit at baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.