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Tuesday, June 24 · 5:30 - 7:30 pm MST
Tuesday, June 24 · 5:30 - 7:30 pm MST
Laramie County Library, Cottonwood Room
2200 Pioneer Avenue Cheyenne, WY 82001
Social media shapes how we connect, learn, and express ourselves. But who should set the rules—and should the government be involved?
Join Braver Angels for a community gathering that explores the complex role of social media in our lives and the government's place in regulating it. Whether you're passionate about digital rights, interested in policy, or simply curious, this is your chance to join the conversation. Attendees can kick things off with a brief four-minute speech, respond with quick comments, ask questions, or simply listen while enjoying free food.
The Braver Angels debate structure fosters a respectful and engaging space where people of all backgrounds think together, listen to one another, and walk away with something new to think about.
All attendees who register and attend the event will be entered for a chance to win a $50 gift card! Please register below:
What to expect:
Dinner is generously donated by Wing Shack!
Participants will sign in, get a name badge, and be seated in a large circle.
The “debate” will kick off at 6:00 p.m. with four short speeches from individuals who indicate their interest on the registration form. Speeches will alternate being for or against the resolution: The benefits of regulating social media outweigh the risk to free speech). After each speech, the audience will be given the opportunity to ask questions. After the first four speeches are completed, the conversation will be opened for additional audience members to participate.
If you choose to speak, you will be given up to four minutes to give a planned speech, come up with something on the spot, or just state your opinion. Then the audience will be allowed to ask a question or two. This will continue until 7:00 p.m. or until the conversation naturally winds down.
Attendees can stick around to chat and connect until 7:30 p.m.
Useful information for framing the debate:
To help focus our discussion on social media regulation, we will be using a Braver Angels “debate” format. Participants will therefore be encouraged to take one side or the other of the resolution:
Resolved: The benefits of regulating social media outweigh the harms to free speech.
Do not feel constrained by the resolution, its purpose is to help focus the discussion, but not limit it. Any genuinely held beliefs—or uncertainties—you may have about the general problem of social media regulation will be welcomed, provided they are civil and are in the spirit of advancing understanding and searching for solutions. You are encouraged to share personal experiences with social media that may have influenced your opinions. That said, this document covers some background facts and considerations that might help you frame your comments: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oykuihQarlze2xRZX-mS1hS7soRbRgWT/view?usp=sharing
Articles to read
The TikTok ban in historical perspective - America has a long history of debates over speech. Written by Jason Steinhauer, bestselling author; international speaker; advocate for a media and historically literate citizenry. January 19, 2025.
Transparency is essential for effective social media regulation
Social Media Regulation: How should we decide what speech is acceptable/unacceptable on social media?
Protecting Free Speech Compels Some Form of Social Media Regulation
There’s a clear way to regulate Facebook, TikTok and other social media
We Can Regulate Social Media Without Censorship. Here’s How.
Social media regulation in the United States: Past, present, and future
Congress hasn’t been able to make social media safer. Here’s why
Regulating Social Media Access: What Does the First Amendment Allow?
Does Government Regulation of Social Media Violate the First Amendment?
YouTube Videos
Useful Vocabulary:
Algorithm: Social media rules that determine what you see on your feed. It can often lead you to see more of what you like, and less of what you disagree with.
Cyberbullying: Broadcasting text, pictures, or videos to humiliate, shame, demean, or threaten someone online.
Doxing: Publishing private info online, usually with the intention to harm.
First Amendment: Protects freedom of speech and press. The definition of “speech” for this purpose, and the nature and scope of exceptions to freedom of speech have been the subject of numerous Supreme Court and other court decisions.
Internet: Worldwide computer network.
Network Effect: Platform value increases with users.
Platform: Online site where users can post content that can be shared with, responded to, modified and forwarded by other users.
Section 230: Protects platforms from liability for user content. Learn more in this short video.
Social Media: Mass media using social networking platforms and other sites on the Internet to build an audience and share information, ideas, experiences, and other content through text, images, videos, and audio.
Targeted Advertising: Ads delivered to specific users based on their characteristics, interests, affiliations, opinions, geographic location, or other factors that might be suggest a susceptibility to the advertising.
Web 2.0: User-generated internet content.
This event is just one part of Cheyenne's Civic Season!
July 4th commemorates the moment a new nation was born, based on ideals that each generation since has worked to bring to life: freedom, equality, justice, and opportunity. Juneteenth, celebrated just a few weeks earlier, reminds us of the struggles and hard-won victories in our ongoing journey to form a “more perfect union.” Civic Season unites our oldest federal holiday with our newest, mobilizing a movement to understand our past and shape our future.
Join the Wyoming State Museum along with a collaborative of local and statewide organizations for a summertime celebration of who we are as a nation, how we got here and where we want to go next.
** This event is open to the media upon approval. Send requests to press@braverangels.org
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