What happens when all actions and facts are up for debate?

Disinformation is making everyone a bit crazy, and certainly tapping into the craziness that was always there in mankind, even before social media.

Many of us have been appalled by the videos and photos coming out of Ukraine, showing dead and mutilated bodies, and by the reports of rape and indiscriminate bombings and shootings. Much of the Western World is stunned and angry.

But most Russians believe (or profess to believe) that all the videos and photos and reports are fake, meant to damage their country's reputation. They have been fed a constant stream of coverage by the Russian media about fighting Nazis in Ukraine and about Russia being unfairly attacked.

But the Big Lie is not limited to Ukraine, of course. Last week, Michigan Rep. Lisa McClain, a first-term member of Congress, credited Donald Trump with having "caught Osama bin Laden," among other terrorists. 

bin Laden was taken out in 2011, long before Trump was elected, but would anyone be surprised to see this bizarre claim be repeated endlessly on right wing social media and TV? After all, a congressperson said it.

Here in Colorado, we have multiple Republicans running for state and national office who still cling to the fiction that Biden is not our elected president and that a giant conspiracy led to a coup. 

Ministers are praying for the persecuted insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, and their zealot followers chant "amen!" Congregations pray for the "baby-eating Democrats" to be destroyed by a loving God.

Disinformation is a nicer way of saying "lies." Misinformation is how we describe mere mistakes. 

Journalists, researchers, and scientists make their share of mistakes, sometimes falling victim to pressures to publish and proclaim before all the facts are in. There is a reason journalism is often termed "the rough draft of history."

Less than two months ago, the common wisdom was that Ukraine would fall to the Russians in a few days. Now every media outlet is exploring how they could have been so wrong and what they didn't understand about, well, a lot of things.

But at least most reputable media outlets are trying to correct earlier errors. Less reputable media continue to lie, often out of knee-jerk reaction to anything claimed by political rivals.

The reality of disinformation causing so much confusion, anger, and hatred has to be addressed in the high school journalism classroom -- in every classroom -- and you couldn't blame students for doubting the accuracy of their own school media.

But building credibility with the audience is our only option, and the more localized and verifiable the coverage, the more trust is regained by the public for the media, for government, for the police, for churches and schools.

There isn't much a student media program can do to combat the disinformation on social media and state propaganda channels. But the coverage of our own campuses is the foundation of trust that we can try to build. And it is comforting to know that most students really do trust their teachers and their school. 

This is not new, but today our dedication to accuracy MUST be goal #1. We need to "get it right," to spell the names correctly and get the right scores of games. 

Local media can be where we all begin reclaiming the truth.