Course Description

This course will allow students to explore social media and its effects on free speech and public discourse in contemporary society. It will cover the philosophical foundations of free speech, the legal and institutional expressions of free speech in modern democracies, the characteristics of social media infrastructure, how our society's free speech is being influenced if not transformed by this infrastructure, and perspectives on the need, or not, for "regulatory fixes" advanced from different viewpoints.

General Education Theme Area(s)

This is a General Education course that supports learning in the following theme area(s): Civic Life , Science and Technology , Social and Cultural Understanding

Essential Employability Skills

This course contributes to your program by helping you achieve the following Essential Employability Skills:

EES 1 Communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in the written, spoken and visual form that fulfills the purpose and meets the needs of the audience. (T, A)
EES 6 Locate, select, organize and document information using appropriate technology and information systems. (T, A)
EES 7 Analyze, evaluate and apply relevant information from a variety of sources. (T, A)
EES 8 Show respect for diverse opinions, values, belief systems and contributions of others. (T, A)
EES 11 Take responsibility for one's own actions, decisions and consequences. (T, A)
Assessment Levels —T: Taught A: Assessed CP: Culminating Performance 

Course Learning Requirements / Embedded Knowledge and Skills

When you have earned credit for this course, you will have demonstrated the ability to:

1. Identify constitutional/legal protections for and limitations on free speech in Liberal Democracies.

  • Define free speech and freedom of assembly rights in democratic societies.
  • Classify applicable laws and court judgements that apply to defining free speech and its limitations in Canada.
  • Interpret how culture acts to shape perceptions of acceptable and unacceptable speech.
  • Clarify your interpretation of “acceptable speech” in cultural and legal contexts.

2. Explain the infrastructure and algorithms of social media and their influences on free speech and public discourse.

  • Describe the original purposes of social media algorithms in marketing.
  • Specify how social media technology identifies the user.
  • Interpret the impacts of “information bubbles” created by social media infrastructure.
  • Assess the results of social media algorithms in your own social media experience.

3. Determine truth from falsehood in social media content.

  • Classify sources of false information in social media.
  • Specify the techniques for assessing social media information for facts or deceptions in written and video communications.
  • Examine evolving fake information threats arising from changing technology in social media.

4. Debate the need for government or civil society action on social media.

  • Describe recent developments for regulating social media in Europe and North America.
  • Interpret current approaches for controlling false or hateful communications in social media by private and government entities.
  • Distinguish the political and legal limitations of state regulation of social media.
  • Discuss the appropriateness of private corporate or government regulation of social media.

5. Compose responsible and factually supportable written and video positions on key themes in the debate on social media and free speech.

  • Compose defensible arguments on the importance of facts and truth in social media communication.
  • Apply techniques to efficiently portray factual evidence in social media.
  • Employ factually defensible arguments in short scripted videos.
  • Debate the social media presentation of others in a respectful and constructive manner.

6. Assess emerging debates and propositions on civic responsibility in public discourse on social media.

  • Define how irresponsible social media communications is contributing to a polarized political environment in liberal democracies.
  • Articulate the social psychological impacts of harmful social media communications.
  • Hypothesize the various ways that false information can create social divisions.
  • Link the anonymity offered by social media to harmful speech.

Pre-defined Evaluation / Earning Credit

The following list provides evidence of this course's learning achievements and the outcomes they validate:

Discussion Forum (20%)

Validates Outcomes:  CLR 1, CLR 4, CLR 6, EES 1, EES 7, EES 8

Video Presentation(s) (20%)

Validates Outcomes:  CLR 1, CLR 2, CLR 5, CLR 6, EES 1, EES 6, EES 7, EES 8, EES 11

Video Presentation(s) (20%)

Validates Outcomes:  CLR 3, CLR 4, CLR 5, CLR 6, EES 1, EES 6, EES 7, EES 8, EES 11

Quiz(zes) (20%)

Validates Outcomes:  CLR 4, CLR 5, CLR 6, EES 6, EES 7

Final Exam (20%)

Validates Outcomes:  CLR 1, CLR 4, CLR 5, CLR 6, EES 1, EES 6, EES 7

Learning Resources

Resource Material:

There is no need to purchase a textbook(s) in this course. All resource material, short articles and videos, is provided with URLs in the “Resources” column in the Course Section Information (CSI) document for each week of the course.  They are also loaded into weekly lesson plans in the Brightspace course.

Because this course addresses a relatively recent and fast evolving subject matter, course material will inevitably be updated regularly as new content that is worthy is identified by the Professor. These additional sources of high interest will be posted to Brightspace Announcements and subsequently integrated into the CSI at an appropriate time before the start of the next new course offering.

Hardware and Software:

Students should use the free version of Grammarly and consider purchasing a subscription to Grammarly Premium to assist with improvement in writing skills. https://app.grammarly.com/

Students will also require a cell phone with video and voice recording capabilities or a basic video and voice recording system for their laptop or desktop computer.

Learning Activities

During this course, you are likely to experience the following activities:
  • Professor’s Lecture Slides
  • Professor’s Short Lecture Videos
  • Informational YouTube Videos
  • Class Zoom Calls for Questions and Answers
  • Class Discussion Board Forums
  • Student YouTube Script and Video Creation
  • Learning Assessment Quizzes
  • Final Take-home, Open Book Examination Assessment.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition

Students who wish to apply for Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) need to demonstrate competency at a post-secondary level in all outlined course learning requirements. Evidence of learning achievement for PLAR candidates includes:

  • Portfolio

Course Related Information

See the Course Section Information (CSI) document for course information.

Program Information

College Related Information

Algonquin College’s policies have been developed to ensure the health, safety and security of all students, faculty and staff, and the proper and fair operation of the College as an academic institution and employer.  Please refer to the Algonquin College Policies website for the most current policy information available at http://www.algonquincollege.com/policies/.

Students are especially encouraged to be aware of the following College expectations

Academic Integrity 
Algonquin College is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity, and students are expected to uphold these standards as part of the learning process. Any academic work submitted by a student is expected to be their own work, unless designated otherwise and all sources must be attributed. All students should be familiar with the Algonquin College policy AA48: Academic Integrity .  In some courses, online proctoring may be used to discourage cheating. Additional information can be found at https://www.algonquincollege.com/studentsupportservices/student-learning-kit/preparing-to-learn-online/. Students with any questions about the course expectations for academic dishonesty and plagiarism are encouraged to speak to their professor.

Centre for Accessible Learning
Students with visible and/or non-visible disabilities are encouraged to register with the Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL) in order to be eligible for appropriate learning supports and/or accommodations.  Students are strongly encouraged to make an appointment at the Centre for Accessible Learning as early as possible when starting a program. Once your needs are identified, a Letter of Accommodation (LOA) will be issued which you can share with your professors. If you are a returning student, please ensure that professors are given a copy of your LOA each semester.

College Email
Students at Algonquin College are provided with a college email account. This is the address that will be used when the College, your professors, or your fellow students communicate important information about your program or course activities.  Your network credentials can be found in the ACSIS portal and you are expected to check your Algonquin email regularly and to use it to send and receive college-related email. Support is available through the college Information Technology Service (ITS) at: https://www.algonquincollege.com/its/

Retroactive Accommodations
Students are expected to meet evaluation and completion deadlines as stated in course outline and course section information documents. In circumstances where evaluation and/or completion deadlines are missed or student performance has been affected by a temporary or permanent disability (including mental health), interim or retroactive accommodations may be considered. In such instances, please consult your course faculty member. For other situations where deferral of evaluations may be warranted, please consult Algonquin College Policy AA21: Deferred Evaluation.

Student Course Feedback
Algonquin College’s invites students to share their course experience by completing a student course feedback survey for each course they take. For further details consult Algonquin College Policy AA25: Student Course Feedback.

Use of Mobile Devices in Class
With the proliferation of small, personal mobile devices used for communications and data storage, Algonquin College believes there is a need to address their use during classes and examinations. During classes, the use of such devices can be  disruptive and disrespectful to others. During examinations, the use of such devices may facilitate cheating. For further details consult Algonquin College Policy AA32: Use of Mobile Devices in Class

Technology Requirements
As Algonquin College continues to respond to public health guidelines, many courses will be offered through remote delivery. As such, students will be required to have access to a computer and to the internet. There may also be additional technology-related resources required to participate in a course that are not included in the course materials fee, such as headphones, webcams, specialized software, etc. Details on these requirements can be found in the Course Section Information of the course outline for each course available on Brightspace.

Transfer of Credit
It is the student’s responsibility to retain course outlines for possible future use to support applications for transfer of credit to other educational institutions.