The election brought about a litany of “firsts.” The first woman nominated for president by a major political party. The first president-elect with no military or formal political experience. Among all of the unfamiliar facets to the 2016 campaign season, the deluge of fake news from fake news websites—concocted primarily to stoke theories popular in conspiracy circles—has proved very influential.

And on Sunday, their influence nearly proved deadly.

The fictional PizzaGate “news story” spread like wildfire among the Facebook fever swamps, rife with standard conspiracy fare: hidden tunnels, government sanctioned child sex rings. Real tinfoil hat stuff. But with this fake news story came real consequences, when an armed man entered Cosmic Ping Pong in Washington, D.C. to “investigate” the claims. The gunman fired at least one shot inside the pizza joint before surrendering to authorities.

The influx of fake news on social media was already a massive story prior to Sunday’s events, but now the game has changed. It’s no longer just trolls spreading false information; it has real world consequences. When you have vigilantes armed with assault rifles entering buildings to investigate conspiracy claims, something has to be done.

It’s a high wire act for online outlets, however. The First Amendment guarantees the right to free speech, so Facebook and Twitter are toeing a delicate line. You don’t want to infringe on the freedoms of your user-base, but when the deliberate spread of false information leads to outcomes like we saw on Sunday, the safety of that same user-base is in jeopardy.

What a strange world.

The thing about conspiracy theories is that they’re never really solved. Once one is debunked, another swiftly takes its place. It’s already occurring with PizzaGate, as many are now claiming the events were a “false flag” designed to discredit the fake allegations. Paranoia is a hell of a drug; its remedy only appearing to be more paranoia.

Let’s hope this is the first and last instance of fake news conspiratorial fantasy impacting real life.

You avoided the peril of Black Friday. You resisted the urge to raid Amazon on Cyber Monday. The usual sequence of drink-splurge-regret has successfully been avoided this year. But here’s a post-Thanksgiving themed day we should all get behind: Today: Giving Tuesday.

#GivingTuesday is an upstart online movement that utilizes the power of social media connectedness to help others—locally, nationally or globally. It’s a chance to take that money saved from ill-advised purchases to give back to others in the community, at the micro or macro level. Through its website, www.GivingTuesday.org, users can choose to sort through a list of charities seeking donations—either in their local community or around the country—or filter results to identify other countries participating.

Last year alone, the Giving Tuesday campaign raised $116 million in 70 countries—not bad for an idea still in its infancy. But this philanthropic movement is not merely limited to dollars. Users can search results for volunteer opportunities in and around their cities.

The holiday season is a time to celebrate, to appreciate the year’s blessings, and to enjoy the company of friends and family. It’s also a time to share those blessings with others. Today, I encourage you to visit the Giving Tuesday website and find a way to lend a hand to others and make their holiday season a bit brighter.

On the heels of my least favorite holiday is one of my favorites. Where it’s socially acceptable to crack a crisp IPA at 11 am and overeat dishes mainly comprised of butter and sour cream. Yes, Thanksgiving is simply the best, and after the political season, we all deserve a day to gorge ourselves on food and drink.

But we also deserve a day of family, friendship and fellowship, and the time to enjoy each other’s company and reflect on the blessings we’ve been afforded. Thanksgiving is simply the best because along with a cornucopia of comfort food, we can celebrate those in our lives and the joy that they bring.

We at PR/PR hope you and yours have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving, and we will see you back in the office on Monday.

Well, today’s the day. After the months of bickering and bombshells and vitriol and divisive rhetoric and cable-news-inspired anxiety, we’re here. Election Day 2016; the culmination of the nastiest fight for the presidency we’ve ever seen. Short on inspiration and unity, heavy on mudslinging and angst-driven bombast.

Both candidates pretty much look like Andy Dufresne, right before he emerged from that drainage pipe to finally gain his freedom.

To think about it, it’s a fairly apt metaphor for how we all probably feel. After tonight, this will all (hopefully) be over.

But enduring this sideshow will be entirely for naught if you don’t get out there today and vote. Skip lunch. Leave early. Fashion any sort of excuse you need to make sure your ballot is cast and your number counted. Your meeting about next week’s meeting this afternoon can wait. Today is far too important.

It’s your opportunity to participate in what makes our country so great: democracy. A government for, by, and of the people. Don’t take this right for granted—get out there and make your voice heard today!

Good afternoon everybody! I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and a fun and safe Halloween filled with no tricks, just treats. I’m admittedly a bit of a Halloween Grinch, so I spent my evening catching up on Westworld and avoiding the ghouls and goblins lurking around my neighborhood. The candy bowl was empty this morning, for the record.

Speaking of scary, we’re now just a mere one week away from Election Day. In seven days all this madness will be all over. Or maybe it will just begin; who knows with this election season. If Hillary Clinton flew into Orlando on a Hippogriff today I’d hardly bat an eye. We’re in The Upside Down at this point.

One thing that’s entirely for certain is that along with a new administration transitioning into the White House, there will be a digital transition, as well. With social media becoming such an immense platform, the new president will assume the @POTUS Twitter account on Inauguration Day—and all of its followers.

Other accounts, such as the White House Twitter, Facebook and Instagram will also be transitioned—followers intact—with previous content, such as Obama Administration photos and status updates registered with the National Archives and Records Administration. Crazy, eh?

Another sign of the rapidly changing times, I suppose. In elections of yore, the transitional period involved intelligence briefings and cabinet appointments readying for a shiny new administration. Now federal IT teams are going to be working alongside those transition teams to archive all social media activity, and prepare the accounts for the arrival of a new president.

Seven more days.