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Ethical Creation and Sharing

Guiding Questions 

  • When something is shared online and causes harm, who is responsible: the creator, the sharer, or both? 
  • How can our everyday digital choices affect others, even when we don’t mean them to?  

Objectives 

  • Students will  
    • Define what responsibility means in the context of digital media 
    • Identify issues related to creating and sharing media. 
    • Explain why consent, accuracy, attribution, and impact matter in digital spaces. 
    • Apply responsibility to real-world media-sharing scenarios to determine responsibility. 
    • Reflect on their own responsibilities as digital creators and sharers. 

Resources 

Student Resources

  • A device with access to the internet 

Anticipate  

  • Display 3 scenarios (or read them aloud): 
    • A funny photo of a classmate taken at school 
    • A candid image of a famous singer looking exhausted backstage 
    • A screenshot a private message where the name is redacted  
  • Ask students to respond with a quick write: Would you share this? Why or why not? 
    • Call on several students to share their responses.   

Engage 

  • Say to students, “Today, we are going to investigate the underlying ideas behind our responsibility in the creation and sharing of media. Every time we post, forward, or repost something, we’re making a choice. Today, we’re going to learn four questions that help us make responsible choices online, not just smart ones, but ones that respect others and reflect an important role we have in our communities. 
    • Is it accurate? 
    • Is it mine to share?  
    • Do I have permission?  
    • What impact could this have: On an individual, in relationships, or in the bigger community? 
  • Say to students, “Responsible and respectful creation and sharing means slowing down, thinking critically, and choosing responsibility and respect.” 
  • Review the scenarios from the Anticipate section and have students answer each of the questions as they relate to the scenarios. Ask, ‘What matters most, accuracy, ownership, permission, or impact, and why?” 

Explore  

  • Divide students into small groups. Give each group a media scenario, such as: 
    • Reposting a private story screenshot 
    • Using AI-generated images without disclosure 
    • Editing a photo or video to make someone look foolish 
    • Sharing breaking news before verification 
  • Each group discusses: 
    • What is the problem? 
    • Who could be affected? 
    • What is the responsible choice? 
    • How could the content be improved or shared responsibly? 
  • Each group briefly shares its decision and reasoning. 
  • Share this article with students and say, “Researchers at Yale studied what happens when misleading social media posts are labeled with fact‑checking notes. They found that when posts were flagged, people were much less likely to like, share, or repost them, especially when images or videos were misleading. This shows that labels can slow the spread, but also that a lot of people share content before labels even appear. That is why individual creators and sharers still hold a lot of the responsibility.” 
  • Ask students:  
    • How does your scenario connect to the Yale study? 
    • If fact‑checking labels reduce misinformation, why do you think false or misleading posts still spread so quickly? 
    • Why do shared facts and verification matter for participation and decision-making?  

Assess and Reflect  

Use these questions as a reflection or as an assessment, like an exit ticket.  

  • Which question do you think is most important when sharing media, and why? 
  • Describe one way you will change how you create or share media after today’s lesson.