When a war unfolds on our screens, every single person, regardless how far removed from the physical conflict, becomes a potential recruit.

Armies of bots, trolls and paid propagandists take over social media, flooding it with disinformation designed to manipulate our emotions and shape public opinion.

The internet is also a battlefield.

Social media has become a barrage of violent, heart-wrenching, stomach-turning imagery and commentary since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel and the country began massive military retaliation in Gaza.

For people who have family and friends in the war zones of Israel and Gaza, social media is a critical tool to keep up with what may be happening to their loved ones. And most of us spend at least some time online, whether we have immediate personal connections to the region or not. So escaping the barrage is nearly impossible.

Equally difficult is determining how much of what we're seeing and hearing is real.

On Oct. 8, BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh shared on X, the site formerly called Twitter: “I’ve been fact-checking on Twitter for years, and there’s always plenty of misinformation during major events. But the deluge of false posts in the last two days, many boosted via Twitter Blue, is something else. Neither fact checkers nor Community Notes can keep up with this.”

Disinformation -- false or misleading information that is intentionally spread with the purpose of deceiving or manipulating others -- affects all of us. It’s designed to provoke intense feelings of anger and disgust, hijacking our more rational brain.

When we are in this state, whether the information that provoked it is true or not, we are much more susceptible to dehumanizing those we believe are committing or supporting such acts. Also, seeing content that confirms our beliefs and validates our biases feels affirming. We all want to be on the side of righteousness, justice and good.

In the fog and chaos of war, discerning what has actually happened can take time. Misinformation -- the unintentional spread of false reports, as opposed to deliberate disinformation -- is common, and understandable. Even credible, legitimate news sources, which try to vet and verify information, can make mistakes.

Here are some of the confirmed facts: On Oct. 7, Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,200 people in assaults on kibbutzim, border towns and a music festival. At least 199 civilians, including many children, and soldiers were taken hostage. Israel has declared war on Hamas, beginning a major military operation and complete siege of Gaza, where more than 3,000 people, including 1,000 children, have died so far. Israel has cut off all food, water, fuel and electricity to more than 2 million people in the Gaza Strip, large areas of which have been reduced to rubble. At least 1 million people have been displaced.

One of the most graphic and horrifying stories that has circulated widely is that Hamas fighters beheaded 40 babies in Israel. President Joe Biden referenced this while speaking to Jewish community leaders. A spokesman later clarified that neither U.S. officials nor the president have confirmed such reports independently, nor seen any photographic evidence of it. Biden’s comments were based on claims from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman and media reports in Israel. The reports are still unconfirmed, but the claims have had 44 million impressions on X/Twitter.

Murdering innocent children is an atrocity and a war crime, regardless of the horrific details. But verifying the accuracy is also critical.

If stories of brutal and barbaric acts, for which there is no independent verification, are propagated, they can be used as a tool to convince people that others are less than human and deserve to be treated as such.

Furthermore, if it turns out that stories about brutality are unfounded or untrue, it gives ammunition to those whose goal is to minimize or obscure war crimes. It leads well-intentioned people to wonder about the accuracy of other vetted reports.

This is one of dozens of examples of conflicting reports, some of which have been debunked and others that are true. NBC News reported that researchers uncovered a network of 67 accounts on X/Twitter that are coordinating a campaign of false, inflammatory content related to the ongoing war. Old videos, fake photos, even video game footage and fabricated documents have flooded our social media feeds. BOOM Fact Check, an independent fact-checking organization based in India, found that much of the hate and disinformation is coming from accounts in India that have purchased the blue verification check on X/Twitter. The symbol noting verification no longer means a source is verified or who they claim to be.

If billion-dollar social media companies refuse to invest in monitoring disinformation, how are ordinary news consumers supposed to do it?

I start by asking myself a series of questions: Am I checking in on the news with credible sources from a diversity of viewpoints, across the political spectrum? Who else has confirmed this information? What types of sources are sharing this information? Have I checked multiple places, through my own Google searches, to try to find evidence of this claim?

It takes some extra work, but I do not want to contribute to fanning the flames of a raging fire.

Seeking truth is a way of holding on to our own humanity during horrific times.

With the first round of deadlines less than a month away, high school seniors are in the thick of college application season.

Annalee Nissenholtz, St. Louis-based director of college counseling at Interface Education Services, oversees 30 college counselors advising students all over the world. She shared with me some of the most common mistakes her team sees:

-- Leaving your applications until the last minute.

A hastily completed application will never be your best work. Essays should go through multiple drafts, and at least two people should proofread them for mistakes before you press submit.

-- Not building a strategy and theme.

An application needs to tell a specific, individualized story. If you can identify your interests and tell a unique story about yourself, you stand a better chance of being remembered.

-- Writing a generic personal statement.

The goal of your personal statement is to grab your reader’s attention and share information about your life that best shows who you are and why the school should want you on campus.

Application readers do not want to hear about the hurdles your parents and grandparents have overcome, a disappointing loss (or memorable victory) in sports, or a volunteer experience that you've only done three times in your life.

“Your application readers are not therapists. They are job interviewers,” Nissenholtz said.

Another common pitfall is to try to cover too much: “You can’t tell a life story in the personal statement. Stick to one or two main ideas,” she said.

-- Neglecting other parts of your application.

Make sure all sections of your application are written as clearly and cleanly as your essay. For instance, do not use acronyms on your activities list that someone outside your school would not know. Use the “additional information” space on the application to add details about yourself that are not included elsewhere.

-- Waiting until the last minute to ask your teachers for recommendations.

Teachers only have so many hours in the day and are busy writing lesson plans, correcting papers and supervising clubs. Do not be among the last to ask for a letter of recommendation.

-- Focusing too much time and energy on highly selective “reach schools.”

Congratulations if you are one of the top students at your high school. But if you're only applying to top-ranked colleges, remember that you are joining all the students in every high school in the country -- and the world -- who also are at the top of their classes. Be sure to have a Plan B.

-- Using AI to help with essays.

With the rise of ChatGPT and other AI tools, colleges are putting safeguards in place to identify students who may be using AI to write their essays. If colleges even suspect that your work is not your own, you will not be offered a place in the class.

-- Not giving enough time and attention to your supplemental essays.

The colleges that ask additional questions unique to their institution are doing it for a reason: They want to be sure your writing style matches your personal statement, and they want to learn more about you.

-- Not signing up for an interview or a meeting when the admissions representative visits your school.

Many colleges use interviews as a significant piece of their holistic evaluation procedure. Be sure you take advantage of every opportunity to be known to the admissions representative assigned to your school, and sign up for an interview if it is offered.

-- Not following up after your application is submitted to demonstrate your interest.

Colleges want to know they are among your top choices. Even after submitting your application, be sure to sign up for more information on their website. And take a tour -- in person, if you can, or virtually.

-- Failing to have honest conversations about finances early in the process.

Students often don’t fully understand their parents’ finances. It’s important for parents, especially those who are unlikely to qualify for need-based aid, to have an upfront conversation about whether they can afford $70,000 to $80,000 a year if a student is accepted to a highly selective school.

When Rhanita Smith, a senior at McCluer High School in Ferguson, Missouri, started to write her personal essay for a college application, she had no idea where to begin.

“I didn’t know how to sit and just talk about myself,” she said.

Smith, an "A" student, balances participating in Junior ROTC, volunteering as a praise dancer with her local church, working in retail and earning her cosmetology license -- all while still in high school.

Her life changed when she was 11 years old and her mother died. The help she received from her middle school counselor inspired her to want to become a child therapist.

On her college applications, she is focusing on her achievements.

“I don’t like using my sad story,” she said, adding that she'd rather highlight how far she has come.

This year, following the Supreme Court’s decision banning the use of race-based preferences in college admissions, no one reading Smith's application will know she is African American unless she finds a way to weave it into her personal narrative.

Veteran college counselors say they aren’t sure how the changes in this cycle will play out in admissions decisions, and that they will be looking closely at the demographic data when it is released. Despite the years when affirmative action was permitted, Black students are still underrepresented on the most selective college campuses.

Matt Essman, director of college counseling at Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School -- a private institution known locally as MICDS -- said a big part of the racial disparities in higher education are tied to the country's wealth and income disparities. Students whose families are in the top income brackets are significantly overrepresented at the most selective institutions, and the vast majority of families in those top income levels are white.

Schools trying to use income to increase diversity on their campuses face an additional hurdle, Essman said: “This year is going to be more challenging than ever because of the changes in the FAFSA and aid process.”

FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the form required to determine eligibility for student financial aid. Normally, that form becomes available on Oct. 1, but this year, it will be sometime in December. Most colleges consider a student’s ability to pay when making admission decisions, but this year, that information won’t be available until two months later than normal.

Smith has already applied to a handful of colleges and plans to apply to several more. Her dream school is Bowie State University in Maryland, ranked as one of the top 20 HBCUs in the country. Wherever she eventually enrolls, the amount of financial aid she receives will be a critical factor.

“I’m not a rich kid,” she said. “I know I will also get a job on campus to help pay.”

Counselors and other experts are doing their best to help students navigate the admissions landscape in this post-affirmative action era.

Jason Lum, founder and owner of ScholarEdge College Consulting, has advised students for more than 23 years. Regarding the recent ruling, he said that in the context of essays and activities, the consideration of race is still entirely permissible.

“The Supreme Court did not say that race is completely irrelevant,” said Lum, who has a legal background. “On its own, race cannot be a factor in decision-making.”

Annalee Nissenholtz, St. Louis-based director of college counseling at Interface Education Services, said college interviews and application videos will be even more important this year.

It’s still critical to be honest and authentic in every part of the application, she says.

That advice hasn’t changed.