During his September debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump amplified a debunked rumor that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people’s pet cats and dogs. Soon, Wittenberg University, a private institution in Springfield, began receiving violent threats. Michael Frandsen, the university’s president, feared the worst — and got an education in the viral power of misinformation.

Related Reading: 

• At 2 Colleges, the Fall Semester Has Been Disrupted by Trump’s Lies About Eating Pets
• If Trump Wins … His allies are preparing to overhaul higher education. The sector is woefully ill-prepared to defend itself.
• 4 years of Fighting: Trump vs. Higher Ed

Guest: Michael Frandsen, president of Wittenberg University

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.