In 2019, Ali was included in Time magazine's list of the most influential people on the internet, in part due to his large Twitter presence.
[4] Through Hassan Nemazee, Ali was introduced to Terry McAuliffe, who secured him a job on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.
[4] After Clinton was defeated by Barack Obama in the Democratic primary, Ali relocated from Los Angeles to San Francisco, securing a position on Gavin Newsom's 2010 gubernatorial campaign.
[4] Through his work in Newsom's office, Ali befriended oil heiress Ariadne Getty, and began borrowing large sums of money from her.
[4] After departing his employment with Newsom, Ali returned to Los Angeles and worked as a cook and personal assistant for Kathy Griffin in exchange for boarding and use of a car.
[8] After working in California Democratic Party politics, Ali moved to New York City and contributed to multiple media publications.
[11] In October 2020, Ali reported allegations that the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, witnessed sexual misconduct by his top aide, Rick Jacobs, but took no action.
[14] On March 16, 2021, Ali reported that television personality Sharon Osbourne had allegedly used racist and homophobic slurs against several of her co-workers for years.
[21] In April 2023, The LA Times reported that Ali had been sued for $230,000 by a debt collector after defaulting on a series of loans from Ariadne Getty.