“The trouble with dead people often begins with something called the Death Master File, which is kept by the Social Security Administration. Every day, new reports are added, provided by relatives, funeral homes, and the state agencies that issue official death certificates. The list contains 90 million reports.”

American journalist

David Fahrenthold is an American journalist who writes for The New York Times. He was previously a reporter for The Washington Post and has also worked as a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. He won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2017 for his coverage of Donald Trump and questions around Trump’s claimed charitable giving, including reporting tied to the 2016 United States presidential election. His work is associated with political reporting and scrutiny of public claims.