Your students are already reporting on social media. Most of them have no framework for the ethical decisions that come with it — when to post, when to verify first, how to handle a viral rumor, what to do when a personal account conflicts with a professional one. This unit gives them that framework, grounded in the SPJ Code of Ethics applied specifically to digital journalism.
See it on Teachers Pay Teachers — $6.39
What's Included: Complete Student Guide (20+ pages) — the Four Pillars of Journalistic Ethics (Act Independently, Seek Truth, Minimize Harm, Be Accountable) applied to social media; practical guidance on managing personal vs. professional accounts and building credibility online 10 realistic ethical scenarios — each with a detailed situation, discussion prompts, teacher guide with key ethical considerations, and professional standards; topics include the viral rumor and speed pressure, anonymous sources, health misinformation, online harassment, copyright and fair use, activist journalism, public corrections, and algorithm bubbles 20-question assessment quiz with complete answer key and rationale for every question How to Use It:
Teach the full unit across several class periods using the student guide as the foundation, then work through scenarios as discussion days. Or pull individual scenarios as standalone ethics discussions whenever a current event warrants it. The scenarios generate genuine debate — not because they're provocative, but because they're genuinely hard calls.
Fully editable Word document; 33 pages total. This unit is part of the Complete Social Media Ethics & Fact-Checking Bundle, which adds the fact-checking field guide and social media verification unit — a complete digital journalism ethics sequence at significant savings. Both are included in the Complete High School Journalism Curriculum Bundle.
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Designed for grades 8-12.
Starmaker English and Journalism Tools 
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