George Santos, the recently elected Republican Congressman from New York, has taken the disinformation phenomenon to a new level His lies about his background were so blatant and full of extreme fantasy that it begs the questions of why, how did he get away with it initially, and what can we learn from his attempt to invent a new life, or really a new personal brand. Moreover, what does this tell us about the dangers to our society when such extreme misinformation can enable untrustworthy politicians into our government?
A branding perspective can help explain the intentions of Santos. Creating a new brand starts with understanding the target audience you want to appeal to, as the ultimate goal is to build an emotional, credible bond with them. This guides what promises you should make, the evidence to support them, and the brand personality or image that will encourage consumers (or constituents) to trust you and ideally vote for you. Importantly such promises have to be clearly delivered to establish a sustained base of brand authenticity.
The Santos Fantasy
The audience for George Santos resided in Queens and northern Long Island, traditionally Democratic leaning, and is predominantly middle class and relatively diverse. These citizens, including many Jewish voters, are not so very affluent, but they admire inspiring rags-to-riches credentials such as college education, working at a reputable bank, entrepreneurial success, and other appealing accomplishments.
To fit this idealistic, desirable picture for his voters, Santos went beyond embellishing his profile by fabricating an entirely new and false brand persona. For example, he blatantly lied about:
- Education – did not have a college degree from Baruch, as he claimed
- Jobs – no, never worked for big companies such as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup
- Charity – did not start a tax –exempt charity for rescuing animals
- Wealth & Property – no evidence of family fortune and owning 13 properties
- Fraud – he committed fraud in Brazil using a stolen checkbook and credit card
- Religion – Santos even described himself as “Jew-ish”, claiming his Catholic grandparents were actually Jewish Holocaust refugees, apparently to liven up a staid image
How did Santos get away with this fantasy to get elected? With the explosion of misinformation and conspiracy theories, especially on social media, many people are so biased that they read only stories that support their pre-set opinions or catalyze their fears (e.g. the perceived rise of crime in the NY Metro area). Santos successfully appealed to these values and emotions of his constituents, making unrealistic promises and presenting a re-invented personal brand that voters in Queens and Long Island could relate to. Only after the election were these lies from Santos revealed, indicating a level of gullibility that can persist just long enough in a world of massive misinformation of all types.
Misinformation shared on social media websites has fueled an epidemic of false beliefs, ranging from misconceptions on Covid-19, to voter fraud and election denial, to the safety of vaccines. With trust in Government at its lowest level ever, people are more inclined to develop their beliefs from the testimony of trusted others, such as teachers, parents, friends, and even supposed “experts” online,
The hope from this unbelievable, brazen performance by Santos is that it will encourage more people to keep an open mind and to diligently fact check such imaginary claims. It is truly scary to witness our society becoming so absorbed in rhetoric and re-branding with no credible evidence
Connect with us