Stopping The Spread Of Misinformation: First Amendment Considerations From Classroom To Courtroom

The rapid spread of misinformation harmful to society is a dangerous consequence of freedom of expression in our digital age. The saying goes that, “a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” In this webinar, we will take on the limits of the First Amendment, while also examining how education and litigation can be effective tools to identify and stem the tide.
This FREE 3-hour informational program is co-sponsored by the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Law, Youth and Citizenship, Committee on Media Law, and Task Force on Free Expression in the Digital Age.
See the Agenda and Faculty tabs for more details!
- June 15, 2021
- 11:00 AM
- 2:00 PM
- Virtual Participation
- Gail Ehrlich, Chair, Law, Youth and Citizenship Committee
- T. Andrew Brown, President, New York State Bar Association
- Al-Amyn Sumar, Counsel at The New York Times
- Ramya Krishnan, Staff Attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute and Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School
- Ian Rosenberg, Assistant Chief Counsel, ABC, Inc., and author of The Fight for Free Speech: Ten Cases That Define Our First Amendment Freedoms
- RonNell Andersen Jones, Lee E. Teitelbaum Endowed Chair and Professor of Law at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, Affiliated Fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project, and former newspaper reporter and editor
- K-Sue Park, Associate Professor of Law Georgetown Law; previously Critical Race Studies Fellow at UCLA School of Law
- Gail Ehrlich, Chair New York State Bar Association Committee on Law, Youth and Citizenship
- John Silva, Senior Director of Education and Training at the News Literacy Project, Nationally Board-Certified educator, and primary developer of “Checkology” at News Literacy Project
- Sandra Street, award-winning history teacher at the Gordon Parks School for Inquisitive Minds in Queens, NY, News Literacy Project New York State Ambassador
- Edward Sanchez, Youth Action (Citizen's Committee for Children)
- Jacquelyn Schell, Associate, Ballard Spahr LLP and Co-Chair, New York State Bar Association Committee on Media Law
- Lyrissa Lidsky, Dean of the University of Missouri School of Law and Judge C.A. Leedy Professor of Law
- Stanton “Larry” Stein, Partner and the head of Media & Entertainment group, Russ August & Kabat
- Daniel Novack, Senior Counsel, Penguin Random House and Co-Chair, New York Bar Association Committee on Media Law
11:00 – 11:10 a.m.
Welcome and Introduction
11:10 am – 12:10 pm
Panel 1: First Amendment in the Age of Disinformation
This segment is presented by the Task Force on Free Expression in the Digital Age
Has the First Amendment become a problem for democracy in the age of disinformation? Does the First Amendment do more harm than good?
Moderator:
Panelists:
12:10 pm – 1:00 pm
Panel 2: Media Literacy Education
This segment is presented by the Committee on Law, Youth and Citizenship
Freedom of expression for all citizens in a democracy requires informed citizens. How can we teach students to become media and news literate, to recognize misinformation and stop it from spreading?
Moderator:
Panelists:
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Panel 3: What Role Can Defamation Law Play in Policing the Marketplace of Ideas?
This segment is presented by the Committee on Media Law
Are mega-lawsuits, such as the ones filed by Dominion and Smartmatic against peddlers of The Big Lie, the solution? How does Anti-SLAPP protect accurate reporting?
Moderator:
Panelists:
- Gail Ehrlich, Esq., Moderator, New York State Bar Association
- T. Andrew Brown, Esq., New York State Bar Association
- Al-Amyn Sumar, Moderator, The New York Times
- Ramya Krishnan, Panelist, Knight First Amendment Institute
- Ian Rosenberg, Panelist, ABC, Inc.
- RonNell Andersen Jones, Panelist, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law
- K-Sue Park, Panelist, Georgetown Law
- John Silva, Panelist, News Literacy Project
- Sandra Street, Panelist, Gordon Parks School for the Inquisitive Minds
- Edward Sanchez, Panelist, Youth Action (Citizens’ Committee for Children)
- Jacquelyn Schell, Moderator, Ballard Spahr LLP
- Lyrissa Lidsky, Panelist, University of Missouri School of Law
- Stanton “Larry” Stein, Panelist, Russ August & Kabat
- Daniel Novack, Panelist, Penguin Random House
- Webinar
- 0KW11
- Committee on Law, Youth and Citizenship

