Touchstone 3.2. Misinformation as a Threat to Public Health.
ASSIGNMENT: Using your outline and annotated bibliography from Touchstones 1.2 and 2.2, draft a 6-8 page argumentative research essay on your chosen topic.
As this assignment builds on Touchstone 2.2: Create an Annotated Bibliography, that Touchstone must be graded before you can submit your research essay draft. Although unrelated by topic, Touchstone 3.1 must also be graded before you can submit your research essay draft.
Sample Touchstone 3.2
In order to foster learning and growth, all work you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.
A. Assignment Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: Refer to the list below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines. Refer to the Sample Touchstone for additional guidance on structure, formatting, and citation.
1. Argumentative Thesis Statement
❒ Have you included a thesis in your introduction that includes a clear, arguable stance and 3-4 supporting reasons?
2. Argument Development
❒ Are all of the details relevant to the purpose of your essay?
❒ Is the argument supported using persuasive rhetorical appeals and page/paragraph-numbered source material (i.e., direct quotations, paraphrasing, and summary)?
❒ Is your essay 6-8 pages (approximately 1500-2000 words, not including your references or reflection question responses)? If not, which details do you need to add or remove?
❒ Does the essay consist of at least seven paragraphs – an introduction, five body paragraphs (with at least one for the counterarguments and rebuttals), and a conclusion? Are the body paragraphs ordered logically to strengthen the argument, and do they all contain accurate evidence from credible sources?
❒ Do your topic sentences make original and supportable points? Do your topic sentences directly support your thesis statement?
3. Research
❒ Have you introduced, contextualized, and cited outside sources effectively using at least some direct quotations (3-5 total), summary, and paraphrase techniques and included page/paragraph-numbered parenthetical citations?
❒ Are the sources incorporated smoothly, providing the reader with signal phrases and context for the source information?
❒ Have you referenced a range of 5-7 credible sources, and does each source have at least one accurate in-text citation in the essay?
❒ Have you properly formatted your citations according to APA style guidelines?
❒ Have you included an APA style reference page below your essay and do the sources listed there match those cited in the essay?
4. Reflection
❒ Have you answered all reflection questions including specific and concrete examples that provide thoughtful insight in all responses?
❒ Are your answers included on a separate page below the main assignment?
B. Reflection
DIRECTIONS: Below your assignment, include answers to all of the following reflection questions.
Provide one example of a place where you have used rhetorical appeals or source material to support your argument. How does this enhance your essay? (2-3 sentences)
Touchstone 4 is a revision of this draft. What kind of feedback would be helpful for you as you revise? Are there parts of your draft that you’re uncertain of? (3-4 sentences)
D. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded:
Composition must be 6-8 pages (approximately 1500-2000 words, not including your references or reflection question responses).
Double-space the composition and use one-inch margins.
Use a readable 12-point font.
All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
Composition must be original and written for this assignment.
Use of generative chatbot artificial intelligence tools (ChatGPT, Bing Chat, Bard) in place of original writing is strictly prohibited for this assignment.
Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
Submission must include your name, the name of the course, the date, and the title of your composition.
Include all of the assignment components in a single file.
Acceptable file formats include .doc and .docx.
Your annotated bibliography must be graded before your research essay draft will be accepted.
Should Social Media Companies Be Legally Required to Regulate Misinformation?
04/10/2025
Introduction
In today’s digital era, billions of people around the world rely on social media sites for news and information, as it has countless posts on a daily basis. Although it is a primary source to make news go viral, it has also become a welcoming hub for misinformation, which can mislead the public through fabricated and false information. The spread of misinformation is not limited to health pranks and political posts, but it also communicates unethical corporate behavior, which can result in real-world harm beyond expectation. Social media companies, which have become gatekeepers of modern communication, should be responsible for addressing this growing global threat through their platforms. These companies need to be legally obligated to regulate misinformation to secure general public health, democracy, and ethical accountability to protect humanity from falling prey to digital evils. Although critics argue that legal regulation can negatively influence freedom of speech, careful legal policies can create a balance between free expression and public safety, which is at risk due to the misuse of freedom of speech.
Misinformation as a Threat to Public Health
The most noteworthy and considerable effect of misinformation spreading through social media can be seen in the field of public health. Specifically, when people are worried about the spread of a particular disease, social sites are full of false posts suggesting cures and showing fake news about the influence of that disease. As a result, a panic is created for nothing, and people begin to shape their attitude, opinion, and beliefs based on those fake posts, which the creators create only for increased subscriptions. The most immediate example of this negative impact of misinformation in the field of public health is the peak of COVID-19. This era showed how quickly false information can be spread online, such as anti-vaccine propaganda and unverified cures, which leads to confusion, worsened health issues, fear, and even deaths, which could be prevented through vaccines and proper guidance. Caceres et al. (2022) argue, “health misinformation negatively affects individuals’ decisions, leading to poor outcomes in physical health” (Caceres et al., 2022, p.2). They further say that this trend of misinformation on social media has caused significant harm during the pandemic, because there is no legal regulation reinforcement on these companies (Caceres et al., 2022). The author found that digital rumors controlled human behavior during those days, for example, people were not ready for medical treatment, vaccine uptake, and safety protocols.
Likewise, another research shows that misinformation on social sites is a warning for public health institutions, because it spreads much faster than facts issued by these authorities, and low media literacy creates further problems by ensuring people that every social post is accurate and fact-based (Dennis and Lindber, 2025, p. 4). These authors pointed out the pace of misinformation, which can swiftly generate opinions and beliefs leading to poor public health outcomes and even shocking surprises, which is a warning for these institutions.
Without any legal mandates, social media companies are not responsible for monitoring or removing fake news from their platforms. Another study shows that voluntary self-governance of social platforms proved quite insufficient during the recent pandemic, as they failed to enforce their own misinformation policies and cannot be held accountable for exploiting any legal regulation (Warnke et al., 2024, p.1102). Health misinformation is out of control, with its global impact worsening the situation in times of a global health crisis. If legal regulation is reinforced, these social media sites will control fake posts, which can ensure national safety and grow global health collaboration.
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