| Module Title |
Information, Manipulation & Democracy |
| Module Code |
MCO1068 (ITS: CM5963) |
|
Faculty |
Humanities & Social Sciences |
School |
Communications |
|
NFQ level |
9 |
Credit Rating |
5 |
|
|
Description
This module will examine wide-ranging concerns about information manipulation and democracy. It will situate these concerns within normative theories of democratic citizenship; debates about the nature of truth, evidence, and expertise; and arguments about the affordances the media environment. Lectures will also address the definitional challenges surrounding disinformation; the evidence for claims about the causes and harms of disinformation; and the benefits and drawbacks of major countermeasures including factchecking, pre-bunking, and media literacy. Students will apply theoretical and empirical insights to contemporary case studies through group and individual assignments. Throughout, students will be expected to engage with a wide-range of reading materials including policy documents, research papers, reports, and journalism.
|
Learning Outcomes
1. Understand the normative role of informed citizens within democracies.
2. Evaluate claims about truth, evidence, and expertise.
3. Assess the causes and impacts of information manipulation.
4. Apply theoretical and empirical insights to case studies
5. Compare the benefits and limitations of different countermeasures.
|
| Workload | Full time hours per semester | | Type | Hours | Description |
|---|
| Lecture | 22 | No Description | | Fieldwork | 10 | No Description | | Independent Study | 65 | No Description | | Assignment Completion | 27 | No Description |
| Total Workload: 124 |
|
|
| Section Breakdown | | CRN | 20704 | Part of Term | Semester 2 | | Coursework | 100% | Examination Weight | 0% | | Grade Scale | 40PASS | Pass Both Elements | N | | Resit Category | RC1 | Best Mark | N | | Module Co-ordinator | Eileen Culloty | Module Teacher | |
|
| Assessment Breakdown |
| Type | Description | % of total | Assessment Date |
|---|
| In Class Test | Quiz | 20% | Week 4 | | Group presentation | Group presentation on a manipulation case study | 30% | Week 7 | | Assignment | Comparative analysis of a case study | 50% | n/a |
| Reassessment Requirement Type |
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
RC1: A resit is available for both* components of the module.
RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module.
RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element.
* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment
|
|
Pre-requisite |
None
|
|
Co-requisite |
None |
| Compatibles |
None |
| Incompatibles |
None |
|
|
All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml
|
Indicative Content and Learning Activities
Lecture topics
1. Normative theory: what should citizens be informed?
2. Evidence and objectivity: deciding what is true
3. Expertise and experience: deciding who to trust
4. Information filters: the role of journalism
5. Information filters: the role of online platforms
6. Distortion and deception:
7. Group presentations (case study)
8. Group presentations (case study)
9. Countering deception: reactions
10. Countering deception: preemptive
11. Conclusion: political contexts and future directions
|
Indicative Reading List
Books:
- Ted Striphas,Ted: 2023, Algorithmic Culture Before the Internet, 9780231206693
- Eileen Culloty,Jane Suiter: 2021, Disinformation and Manipulation in Digital Media, Routledge, 104, 9780367515270
Articles:
- Lewandowsky S and Smilie L: 2020, Technology and Democracy, European Commission Joint Research Center, https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/49b629ee-1805-11eb-b57e-01aa75ed71a1/language-en, 518210
- 2018: The elusiveness of political truth: From the conceit of objectivity to intersubjective judgement, European Journal of Communication, 33(2), 157-1, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0267323118760319, 518211, 1
- Misinformation Interventions: Evidence, Knowledge Gaps, and Implications: European Psychologist., 518212, 2, Finlayson, L.
- Nordic Wittgenstein Review: https://www.nordicwittgensteinreview.com/article/view/3502, 518213, 2, Chadwick, A., Stanyer, J,, 2022
- 32(1): https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtab019,
|
Other Resources
- 1: Website, The Media Manipulation Casebook,
|
|
|
|
|
