Maria Ressa wins Nobel Peace Prize: Filipino-American journalist Maria Ressa has won the Nobel Peace Prize of the year 2021 alongside Russian journalist Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov. Ressa is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler- a Filipino-based investigative news website.
In its announcement, the Nobel committee wrote that the award for Ressa and Moratov is intended to underscore the importance of protecting and defending these fundamental rights. "Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is convinced that freedom of expression and freedom of information help to ensure an informed public," the committee further added.
Elaborating Ressa's contribution to global journalism, the Nobel committee noted, "Maria Ressa uses freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines."
In 2012, Ressa co-founded Rappler, a digital media company for investigative journalism, which she still heads. According to the committee, as a journalist and the CEO of Rappler, Ressa has shown herself to be a fearless defender of freedom of expression. "Rappler has focused critical attention on the Duterte regime’s controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign. The number of deaths is so high that the campaign resembles a war waged against the country’s own population. Ms Ressa and Rappler have also documented how social media is being used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse."
Who is Maria Ressa
Winner of 2021 UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize, the veteran journalist was also named on TIME Magazine's Person of the Year 2018 list. A staunch critic of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, Ressa was found guilty of 'ciberlibel' by a court in Manila, in connection with a story by Rappler on links between a top judge in the country and a businessman. While the journalist has appealed against the judgement, she faces up to six years in prison.
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