George Santos, Newsroom Practices and Media Literacy
Ask Students: Who is George Santos? What has Rep. Santos done to gain so much media attention? Where and When was Santos elected?
Summary
A watchdog group filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing newly sworn-in Rep. George Santos of illegally using campaign funds and masking the source of those funds. The North Shore Leader, a small paper on Long Island, broke the scandal before the November election. By the time other outlets picked it up, Santos had been elected. For a transcript of this story, click here.
Discussion Questions
- Who is George Santos?
- What has Rep. Santos done to gain so much media attention?
- Where and When was Santos elected?
- How did the North Shore Leader figure out Santos was lying about his record and credentials (background)?
- Why did other news outlets not cover the Santos story?
Focus Questions
Rep. Santos has admitted to lying about his resume and past. Why do you think he has not resigned? Do you think Santos should resign from office?
Media Literacy: Do you think the Santos story will change the habits of major newsrooms going forward? Explain. How could missing the Santos story affect people’s trust in the news media? How might it increase people’s trust in journalism?
Additional Exercise
You may have seen another recent story about Rep. Santos, in which he is accused of giving a white power symbol (he has not answered questions about the allegation) on the floor of the House of Representatives. Learn more about the story here by reading this article from the fact-checking site, Snopes.
Related Resources
Republished with permission from PBS NewsHour Classroom.
PBS NewsHour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where and why-it-matters of the major national and international news stories.
