“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”

Those were the infamous words spoken by former President Donald Trump at the Sept. 10 presidential debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as 67 million Americans watched. In the following days, Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, repeated the baseless claims, which originated from rumors and out-of-context videos on social media.

Although there is no evidence for Trump’s claim that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio are stealing and eating the pets of local residents and it has been thoroughly debunked, the statement spread widely following the debate. Millions of Americans saw the clip circulated online, amplified by other politicians, and viewed it in the form of internet memes. For lack of a better phrase, the cat was out of the bag.

While memes of people jokingly putting their fluffy dogs and cats into pots and pans can be humorous, Trump and Vance’s claims have had damaging real-world consequences. Many Haitian residents have become targets of vandalism and fear for their lives, with residents of Springfield facing over 33 different kinds of threats to places like City Hall, local public schools, hospitals, and community centers, according to the Springfield News-Sun. Thankfully, the threats have not materialized into actual bombs or attacks.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said many of the threats have come from overseas. Regardless, enormous pressure has been placed on local officials and residents, with mass evacuations, closures, and increased law enforcement presence.

All of this stemmed from a false claim that spread on social media and was amplified by a candidate for president. This situation shows the ability of misinformation to foment division and hate, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that foreign actors would then continue to try to tear people apart based on this fake information.

Of course, there’s a legitimate discussion to be had about immigration and the impact it’s had on communities across the country. But singling out and demonizing a group of people without any real evidence is not the way to do that.

And Springfield is far from the only example of dangerous lies spreading and impacting the lives of people across our nation. Trump and Vance have also continued to deny the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election, in which President Joe Biden beat Trump.

Despite Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, which included intimidating and pressuring election officials and his own vice president, his claims have been routinely debunked. In 2022, for example, a group of prominent former federal judges, Republican senators, and Republican officials reviewed all 64 court cases launched by Trump and his allies challenging the election. In their report, the conservative group reached the “unequivocal” conclusion that there was “absolutely no evidence” of widespread fraud affecting the outcome of the election.

That report nor the other overwhelming pieces of evidence haven’t stopped millions of Americans from instead trusting the claims of Trump and right-wing politicians and social media influencers. A 2023 poll from the Washington Post and the University of Maryland found that one-third of U.S. adults do not believe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election.

The result? Thousands of election workers have received threats since 2020. Thousands of lives endangered because Trump, unable to accept his defeat, spread unfounded claims that the election had been rigged.

At the same time, trust in mass media has also reached a near-all-time low at 32%. There’s nothing inherently problematic about this; there are perfectly legitimate reasons to not trust the media, and skepticism of any institution is healthy and should be encouraged. However, normal skepticism is one thing, but complete distrust and denial of news sources is another. By the same token, asking questions is one thing, but making false and targeted claims without support is entirely different.

This problem comes as Americans are increasingly turning to social media as a source of their news. That’s how supposed evidence of Haitian immigrants eating pets and supposed evidence of mass voter fraud can circulate to millions. When political candidates use their voices and platforms to amplify those baseless claims, the problem is compounded.

In this world, increasingly, reality is up for debate. Instead of being laser-focused on major issues like the economy, healthcare, and foreign policy, we’re spending too much time on the divisive lies that have metastasized and their damaging impact on our national dialogue.

We encourage all voters, particularly first-time student voters, to comprehensively research the candidates and issues at stake. Regardless of political affiliation, voters need to be vigilant about the information they consume, critically evaluating claims from all sides. Further, we encourage voters to hold candidates accountable for their role in the current public discourse. Misinformation is not exclusive to one side of the political spectrum, but its scale and impact can vary. As we’ve seen, falsehoods like Trump’s claims about election fraud and Haitian immigrants have led to severe and direct consequences.

As student journalists, we have a critical role to play in restoring trust in factual reporting and guiding the national conversation toward truth. In doing so, we heavily weigh the value of the information we publish and whether it has the potential to cause harm. We carefully consider everything we put out to the public to make sure it’s factually accurate and supported. We should all expect the same of those seeking to lead us.