Lesson 1Anonymous and leaked sources: verifying authenticity, chain-of-custody issues, legal protections and limitsCovers dealing with unnamed and leaked sources across media. Addresses checking truth, chain of custody, legal shields, source secrecy, and limits where courts, regulators, or platforms force disclosure or block publishing.
Assessing credibility and corroborationChain-of-custody and document handlingSource protection laws and shield rulesWhen courts may compel source disclosureRisk of publishing forged or altered leaksLesson 2Image and privacy risks in video: filming in private vs public spaces, blurring, anonymization of third partiesLooks at privacy and image risks in video, comparing public and private places. Discusses consent, privacy hopes, blurring and hiding names, children, weak persons, and handling crowds or onlookers in touchy situations.
Public spaces and reasonable expectationsFilming on private property and consentChildren and vulnerable individuals on cameraBlurring faces, plates, and identifiersSensitive locations and safety concernsLesson 3Personal data risks for written articles: health, criminal records, family details — assessing necessity and proportionalityExplores when sharing health, crime, or family info in stories is legal and right. Focuses on need, balance, public good, cutting data, and recording choices under privacy and data rules.
Special category data and legal basesCriminal records and rehabilitation concernsFamily and children’s privacy expectationsNecessity, proportionality, and data minimizationDocumenting public interest justificationsLesson 4Third-party rights: family members’ privacy, employer/employee confidentiality, trade secrets and non-public corporate documentsChecks third-party rights hit by publishing, like family, bosses, workers, and firms. Focuses on privacy, secrets, trade info, and non-public company papers, plus ways to edit, get consent, and safely handle materials.
Incidental versus central third-party dataEmployer and employee confidentiality dutiesTrade secrets and misappropriation risksHandling non-public corporate documentsRedaction, anonymization, and access limitsLesson 5User-generated content and comments: platform liability, moderation obligations, pre-publication screening vs reactive moderationChecks legal dangers from user-made content and comments on sites, apps, channels. Covers platform shields, removal notices, moderation rules, pre-check vs after-check, and policy making to cut overall risk.
Intermediary liability and safe harbor rulesDefamation and hate speech in commentsNotice, takedown, and staydown systemsAutomated filters versus human moderationCommunity guidelines and enforcementLesson 6Multimedia and embedded content risks: social media screenshots, embedded tweets/posts, attribution and takedown considerationsAnalyzes dangers from adding or copying third-party media like social posts, screenshots, widgets. Covers copyright, privacy, service terms, credits, and removal steps across sites and apps.
Screenshots versus native embedsCopyright in posts, images, and videosPlatform terms and API restrictionsAttribution, credit lines, and captionsTakedown notices and repeat infringer rulesLesson 7Video-specific legal risks: copyright for TV extracts, music and clips, right to quote, fair use analogues and licensingAddresses video-only legal dangers, like TV clips, music, third-party footage. Explains quote rights, fair use likes, license choices, and how cuts, overlays, length affect breaking rules and clearance.
Using TV extracts and news footageMusic, soundtracks, and performance rightsUser videos, stock footage, and B-rollQuotation, criticism, and fair use analoguesLicensing workflows and rights trackingLesson 8Identifying defamation risks in long-form written publications: allegations, sourcing, attribution and verifiabilityFocuses on defamation dangers in long written pieces like features and probes. Explores spotting claims, fact from opinion, source checks, fair credits, reply rights, and recording editorial checks.
Defamatory meaning and reputational harmFact, opinion, and mixed statementsSourcing, corroboration, and verificationAttribution, quotations, and contextRight of reply and editorial recordsLesson 9Podcast-specific risks: use of recorded interviews, consent for off-camera remarks, defamatory spoken statements and republicationAnalyzes podcast dangers from recorded talks, casual remarks, edited shows. Covers consent, off-mic hopes, spoken defamation, republishing on other places, and practical clearance and fact-check steps for audio.
Recording laws and consent requirementsManaging off-record and off-mic remarksDefamation in conversational podcast formatsEditing, context loss, and implied meaningsSyndication, transcripts, and republicationLesson 10Cross-media amplification risks: repetition across formats increasing damage and multiplicative liabilityExplores how repeating content across stories, video, podcasts grows harm and blame. Considers republish rules, time limits, area spread, and ways to match fixes and removals across types.
Single publication versus fresh publicationClips, trailers, and promotional snippetsGlobal reach and multi-jurisdiction exposureCoordinated corrections and updatesArchiving, delisting, and de-indexing
