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Video has emerged of Republican House Rep. George Santos dressed in drag in Brazil in 2008.

When a friend posted an image of Santos dressed in drag, he tweeted that the claim was “categorically false.”

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Santos supported Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and he spoke out against drag queens in the past.

After the video emerged on Twitter, Santos doubled down by listing his supposed accomplishments in his first week as a Congressman.

“The mob will NOT distract me!” he wrote, before deleting the tweet one minute later.

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What is a pathological liar?

Pathological lying is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), but pathological lying is a real mental condition.

A pathological liar is a person who compulsively lies without considering the consequences of their lies. Pathological liars tell lies for no reason. They do not suffer humility, or feel shame or disgrace when they are caught lying.

Identifying a pathological liar

It’s easy to identify a pathological liar. They always seem “too good to be true.”

Pathological liars are great storytellers. They make friends easily but their friends are often left frustrated once they realize they’ve been lied to.

Causes of pathological lying

Doctors don’t know what causes pathological lying. There is some evidence that issues affecting the central nervous system may predispose people to pathological lying.

Trauma or head injuries may also play a role, as well as an abnormality in hormone-cortisol ratio.

Pathological liars start out lying in childhood. The more a child lies the easier lying becomes. Positive reinforcement from others validates their behavior.

As they get older, lying is a part of their personality and they can’t separate truth from fiction. They lie even though their lies can be easily disproved.

Pathological lying may not be listed in the DSM as a mental disorder, but the pathological liar may have other mental disorders such as narcissism, antisocial personality disorder, or depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.