The Challenges of Political Journalism and Opposition Research

George Santos, the Republican representative-elect from New York, ran for office and won his seat in part on an inspiring personal story.

But when Times reporters started looking into his background, they made some astonishing revelations: Almost all of Mr. Santos’s story was fake.

Guests: Michael Gold, a reporter covering New York for The New York Times. Grace Ashford, a reporter covering New York politics for The Times.

Background reading: 

• Mr. Santos said that he was the “embodiment of the American dream.” But his résumé was largely fiction.
• On the first day of the 118th Congress, the Santos saga arrived on Capitol Hill.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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