Screenshots Live Forever, as Santos Is Now Finding Out

George Santos has identified as a "Latino Jew," "clearly Catholic," and, famously, "Jew-ish," but whatever he actually is wouldn't excuse what the Anti-Defamation League is calling "deeply offensive" social media remarks he apparently made that have recently been unearthed. Former friends and acquaintances gave Patch.com screenshots of Santos' since-deleted Instagram and Facebook posts and comments, which the outlet notes "reveal a shifting and complicated relationship to racial and ethnic identity." One in particular from more than a decade ago is causing waves: a comment allegedly made by Santos on a March 2011 photo posted by a Facebook friend. The picture shows someone making a military salute, along with the caption "something like Hitler."

The typo-ridden comment seemingly made by Santos: "hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitlerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr(hight hitler) lolololololololololololol sombody kill her!!! the jews and black mostly1 lolololololol!!!! dum." Gregory Morey-Parker, a former roommate and friend, also tells Patch that Santos would frequently make offensive jokes in that vein, typically tied to money—"he'd always say that it was OK for him to make those jokes because he was Jewish"—and that Santos often used the name Anthony Zabrovsky because, in Santos' words: "The Jews will give more if you're a Jew." Santos has also been accused of posting racist comments and memes, including one in 2014 on Instagram about the Obamas, though Santos insists that the hashtags he included with the offensive picture make it clear he was also offended by it.

The upshot of all of this, in combination with all the other controversy that has been swirling around Santos, per Insider: "More people know who the freshman lawmaker is than all but one member of House Republican leadership," according to a recent poll. A Santos attorney didn't elaborate on all of the Patch allegations, but he did note that "the Facebook comment that you reference ... is completely false, absolutely disgusting—there is absolutely nothing to talk about." The ADL's Oren Segal isn't so sure there's nothing to talk about, noting, "Joking about Hitler is clearly offensive for anyone, but it's especially offensive from someone who lied about his Jewish heritage and having family members that fled the Holocaust." (More George Santos stories.)