18

Uhh...

This "mini-course" offered by Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario is not a joke. It's a legit course being given to grade 11 and 12 students.

Thoughts?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] otter@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 month ago

Well, it sounds like a course on election disinformation, with a catchy title

We’ll start by breaking down the basics of what foreign interference is and why countries meddle in each other’s elections in the first place. Next, we’ll dive into the legal issues surrounding foreign interference under Canadian and international law. We’ll also investigate the high-stakes world of cyber interference, exploring the use of cyberattacks, such as hacking and phishing, to disrupt democracy. Finally, we will look at the critical role of social media in shaping electoral outcomes through disinformation campaigns and learn how to recognize the signs of manipulation on the TikTok “For You Page”.

Back in school, I remember doing an activity where we got a map of points and we had to gerrymander it to make one side win, and then the other side, and finally decide on a "fair" way to divide up the region. It was a great way to explain the concept.

I'd rather students are aware of the techniques that are used so that they're more likely to spot them in the wild

this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2025
18 points (95.0% liked)

Casual Conversation

3363 readers
537 users here now

Share a story, ask a question, or start a conversation about (almost) anything you desire. Maybe you'll make some friends in the process.


RULES

  1. Be respectful: no harassment, hate speech, bigotry, and/or trolling.
  2. Encourage conversation in your OP. This means including heavily implicative subject matter when you can and also engaging in your thread when possible.
  3. Avoid controversial topics (e.g. politics or societal debates).
  4. Stay calm: Don’t post angry or to vent or complain. We are a place where everyone can forget about their everyday or not so everyday worries for a moment. Venting, complaining, or posting from a place of anger or resentment doesn't fit the atmosphere we try to foster at all. Feel free to post those on !goodoffmychest@lemmy.world
  5. Keep it clean and SFW
  6. No solicitation such as ads, promotional content, spam, surveys etc.

Casual conversation communities:

Related discussion-focused communities

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS