Would we ‘Santos’ you? Truth-deprived congressman’s name is now a verb
Getting ‘Santosed’ is defined as falling for ‘bald-faced, outlandish lies.’ The term derives from Rep. George Santos’ false claims about himself
U.S. Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) laughs in the House chamber during the second day of elections for speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 4, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
By Adam Kovac January 30, 2023
First, he was Jewish. Then he was a volleyball star and a finance wizard who lost his mother on 9/11. Now George Santos is a verb.
The New York congressman has become so well known for fabricating his biography that the internet has coined a new term for being fooled by someone who’s lying: “being Santosed.”
The term “being Santosed” is already so ubiquitous that it has several definitions on Urban Dictionary. “When you fall for someone’s bald-faced, outlandish lies,” reads one, using the example of a boyfriend “who said he was a doctor, had a house in the Hamptons, and that his dad was an astronaut; can’t believe I fell for that.”
The term is also being used in personnel management, as a warning that hiring managers must do due diligence to avoid being Santosed.
I spoke with HR experts and team leaders who explain how employers can avoid getting ‘Santosed.’ https://t.co/bUriN0YJu8
— Adina Genn (@AdinaGenn) January 13, 2023
While Santos has managed to keep himself in the headlines thanks to a seemingly endless discovery of new untruths related to statements he made during his campaign, his name has started turning up as shorthand in completely unrelated news stories.
Feds announce massive takedown of fraudulent nursing diploma scheme https://t.co/2CcM1nnV4F They George Santosed their way into nursing jobs.
— Lisa (@knotttobe) January 27, 2023
Others have used the term “Santosed” to call out staged anti-vaccination propaganda on Twitter.
Another form of the term is “pulling a Santos.” In other words, rather than being on the receiving end of a lie (“being Santosed”), a person making a false claim is “pulling a Santos.”
Santos’ false claims about himself include lying about his education, his career, his finances and his family. Among other things, he said his grandparents were Holocaust survivors; in fact his grandparents were born in Brazil before the Nazis rose to power.
Some have gotten so excited about the new play on words that they believe we already have a favorite for 2023’s word of the year.
" Being Santosed" will be the new word of 2023!
— COMtnMama (@CoMtnMama1) January 26, 2023
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward An elite Jewish society at Yale fractures over its director’s embrace of Itamar Ben-Gvir
-
News Trump would eliminate antisemitism envoy in proposed State Department overhaul
-
News Harvard’s Jewish president, in new lawsuit, says Trump crackdown has ‘nothing to do’ with fighting antisemitism
-
News Pope Francis, who advanced church’s relationships with Jews, dies at 88
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Trump’s heedless approach to an Iran deal could be a big problem for Israel
-
Fast Forward In NYC, Itamar Ben-Gvir says he’s changed — and wants ‘the Trump plan’ in Gaza
-
Opinion Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to a Jewish society at Yale exposed deep rifts between US Jews
-
Fast Forward On his first trip to Auschwitz, New Jersey governor urges vigilance against rising antisemitism
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.