The entire Trump-Russia saga was predicated on what became an impenetrable self-reinforcing cycle of confirmation bias and group think: Journalists scoured the internet for signs of a conspiracy, which were then picked up on by the FBI and/or CIA, and then the FBI and/or CIA’s resulting investigative actions would be taken as confirmation by the journalists that their theories were vindicated. It was mind-boggling to behold. Discerning media members should have been attuned to this dynamic, because it resulted in a profound disservice being done to the country on a scale that is almost too vast to properly conceptualize. But inexcusably, they chose to keep the fantasy going.