President-elect Donald Trump is caught in a news cycle frenzy due to unsubstantiated allegations put forward in a recently published ‘dossier’.

New claims have emerged that Russia has a dossier of alleged compromising material. The Russians conduct espionage and attempt to cultivate people all over the globe, all the time. This tactic shouldn’t be a shock – but how this became a topic of public conversation is confusing. It probably relates to the real Russian plot, to undermine and delegitimize other countries. Either way, the dossier, the news frenzy, the entire public conversation is does us damage.

It’s probably not a good beginning when you have to dispel being an unwitting agent of a foreign government at your first press hearing. It’s hard to tell who to blame: the media or the viewers who react best in terms of increasing revenue to controversy. Everyone loses on this one. A 35-page document was handed to the FBI in December, a classified summary of those allegations. Those claims connect PEOTUS Trump to a Russian plot to subvert our democratic process. Disclaimer, none of this ought to be in the public domain and what is going on feels wrong, strange, and unprecedented.

This allegation’s authenticity is a complete unknown, and it’s not relevant to us in that if it was real authorities would know. But, what isn’t false is that the Russians are in a constant state of cultivation. That fact shouldn’t be lost on anyone, and these allegations wouldn’t be so jarring to the average American. My father was a journalist for the Chicago Tribune, and in the 60’s, himself and other professional, conservative journalists visited, and some were stationed in Moscow. Nearly all the writers at that time were notified by US Intelligence officials that either a friend or girlfriend was KGB and they were being cultivated. It’s just a standard practice and, in the least, an attempt to cultivate Donald Trump before this presidential run would make sense. Why wouldn’t they? That alone should not indict anyone. He gained popularity and some political notoriety, enough that he gained a following. That is why these reports are given the benefit of the doubt and are causing utter hysteria. Hysteria that ought to stop. Whoever planted them or whatever they’re meant to do – it might be working. We’re losing it over this. In all seriousness, these recent claims have dropped us to a new low. More than anything, I don’t know if this should even be in the public discourse.

The people, in general, might appreciate a more open and constant dialogue with the President Elect. But, at this point, with so much animosity what does that look like? The press conferences are going to be increasingly awkward and the questions polarized. But, it might remedy some of the backlashes as people are jumping to conclusions in the unknown. That openness and constant conversation with the press propelled him to victory. There’s a press call daily with the Transition team, but their answers seem to go relatively unreported. I guess they aren’t interesting or controversial enough. Or, just simply, people don’t care unless it’s the brand name leader giving the answers.

No doubt, the man is tired from his presidential campaign. He might have to bite the bullet and deal with the press like a crazy relative, here, soon. There’s follow on reports that say some online personality made up the documents, entirely, on Reddit. This debacle shows how complicated and confusing the digital age that we live in has become. It’s hard to know what’s true and what’s not – or where the information came from, today. This is a complete mess.