The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

A tiny paper broke the George Santos scandal but no one paid attention

December 29, 2022 at 4:40 p.m. EST
A Long Island weekly newspaper uncovered the story about fabrications by George Santos. (David Becker for The Washington Post)
6 min

Months before the New York Times published a December article suggesting Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) had fabricated much of his résumé and biography, a tiny publication on Long Island was ringing alarm bells about its local candidate.

The North Shore Leader wrote in September, when few others were covering Santos, about his “inexplicable rise” in reported net worth, from essentially nothing in 2020 to as much as $11 million two years later.