Freedom of Speech and Expression
Before beginning this assignment, make certain that you have read Chapter 4 in your text and the New York Times Magazine article by Emily Bazelon titled, “The Problem of Free Speech in the Age of Disinformation” . Then write a brief report that contains three separate sections that address all the points in each set of questions. Notice the expected word count for each section .
1. Using the chapter on “Civil Liberties and Public Policy” from your text, summarize the types of free
speech and expression that are protected by the First Amendment and indicate what types are not
protected. Also, indicate how the Supreme Court has ruled on issues of
“Compelled speech” and “commercial speech.”
2. The author of “The Problem of Free Speech in an Age of Disinformation” indicates that distortions
of truth and waves of speech from extremists are a threat to democracy in the United States. She notes that some scholars believe that Americans’ way of thinking about free speech may not be the best way. From your reading of this article, how has the United States historically dealt with free speech issues, particularly of speech that is controversial or extreme? How has this approach shown?
to be problematic given the changes in the media landscape? Be sure to describe some examples of specific problems that have arisen.
3. According to the author of “The Problem of Free Speech in an Age of Disinformation,” what
solutions to these problems have social media companies implemented and how effective have these
efforts been? What obstacles stand in the way of America’s disinformation problems? What possible government regulations could be? implemented?
