If impact is the name of the game in journalism (spoiler: it is), then Mother Jones continues to be a major player. Our journalism contributed to the expulsion of a corrupt congressman, exposed anti-democracy political groups and corporate greed, and helped provide the basis for a Senate investigation. We launched a creator-in-residence program that helped us reach new audiences in new places. Most importantly, thanks to your support, our journalism made a difference in the lives of our subjects, sources, and readers. Here is a look back at a few of the most powerful stories of 2023:
Shoe-leather journalism: checking in on George Santos’ donors
Providing a bit of comic relief mixed in with his corruption, the story of erstwhile congressman and committed fabulist George Santos bookended (and frankly, threaded through) 2023. By the end of the year, Santos had been expelled from Congress after a damning ethics report. But let’s cast our minds back to January 2023, just after the never-ending list of lies about his past, finances, and campaign surfaced at the end of 2022. Every news outlet was looking into his claims, but reporter Noah Lanard, in collaboration with DC bureau chief David Corn, decided to run down his list of donors, placing calls and door-knocking in Long Island only to find that many didn’t exist, and many of those he could find had not donated at all. This story caused a ProPublica editor to tweet: “The best reporting often looks so obvious in retrospect. Jealous we did not do this.” One has to wonder if that editor was even more jealous in October when Santos was indicted specifically for the fake donor scheme first exposed by Mother Jones.
