Zeynep Tufekci asks challenging questions about the importance of free speech to our democracy and what
limits we should feel comfortable imposing on this right. While the first amendment has historically been
understood as all-encompassing, recent advents in communication technology and changes to our social
landscape have embroiled the idea of free speech itself in fresh controversy. Meanwhile, Marantz’s opinion
piece from the NY Times gives concrete examples of how the easy spreading of ideas, unchecked and
unverified, can have toxic consequences for a society, even going so far as to question the fundamental
importance of free speech rights. Using Marantz and Tufekci as your sources, write a paper in which you
consider the question of whether and how our free speech rights should be reconsidered in the 21st century.
In writing this essay, you should not only consider the sources in isolation, but strive to engage in synthesis and
make connections between them.