Journalism: It’s Not Fake News IP

Journalism: It’s Not Fake News IP

Fall (7 to 10.5 hours) | Registration opens 8/13/2026 12:00 AM EDT

1 Court Street Lebanon, NH 03766 United States
Suite 380 -HYFLEX - ONLINE/ZOOM
N.A.
9/29/2026-10/20/2026
9:30 AM-11:30 AM EDT on Tue
$70.00

Journalism: It’s Not Fake News IP

Fall (7 to 10.5 hours) | Registration opens 8/13/2026 12:00 AM EDT

This registration page is for the in-person option for this course. 

Restoring Faith in the First Amendment in the Age of AI.

This course examines the vital mechanisms of professional journalism to explore how stories are built, verified, and held to account. Keeping in mind the existential threat of AI, how do we maintain a “shared reality” when technology can simulate truth with a single prompt? From the “Marketplace of Ideas” to the modern “Liar’s Dividend,” we will analyze the intersection of law, media ethics, and disruptive technology. By the end of four sessions, participants will be equipped to:
- Understand how AI and disinformation weaponize constitutional freedoms to undermine shared reality
Identify the rigorous verification standards that separate professional journalism from unprotected misinformation
- Evaluate the legal and ethical boundaries of free speech
- Apply critical thinking to real-world scenarios where democratic accountability and the First Amendment hang in the balance.

The course will combine lectures with the (Harvard) case method. In this participant-centered, discussion-based method, participants analyze real-world, complex, and often ambiguous scenarios to develop critical thinking.

20–30 pages of reading per week.

  • There are no required books for this course.
Batra, Narain
Narain Batra

Narain Batra is an author, journalist, and professor with decades of teaching experience in the USA and abroad. He is the author of The First Freedoms and America’s Culture of Innovation and several other books. A specialist in geopolitics, artificial intelligence & society, and the First Amendment, he provides sharp, provocative analysis on culture and democracy. He hosts the podcast America Unbound and is a contributor to the Institute of Arts and Ideas, a think tank.