Name? Maria Ressa
Westphalian identity? Filipino
Age? 56
Why is she in the news? Ressa and fellow journalist Reynaldo Santos Jr are the first two journalists in the Philippines to be convicted of cyber libel.
Why do we care? One of Time’s 2018 Person’s of the Year, Ressa has been recognized by many as one of the leading journalists combating Fake News. As such, she has quickly become the arch nemesis of Filipino President Duterte who (ironically) views Ressa as fake news due to her harsh criticism of his war on drugs.
Why should you care? Because the absurd arrest of Ressa and Santos Jr. may be the first in the Philippines but it is not the first in the world. As Big Tech becomes bigger and bigger, and government’s (democratic or otherwise) boost the use of their authoritative arms, freedom of speech and freedom of the press are increasingly important to hold those in power accountable to those who put them there. As Ressa stated upon hearing the verdict,
“We are meant to be a cautionary tale. We are meant to make you afraid. But don’t be afraid. Because if you don’t use your rights, you will lose them.”
Who else cares? Mark Zuckerberg. Ressa has continuously argued the negative impact Facebook (and other social media outlets) has had not only on how Filipino’s get their news but also many others…Her social news network, Rappler, has begun to challenge Facebook and its news sharing in the Philippines; an alternative Zuckerberg is bound to become frustrated with as he currently profits from the 90% of Filipinos who have Facebook (roughly 96 million people).
Any further comments? What is especially interesting about Ressa and many journalists like her is the seemingly eternal tug-of-war they experience between fighting for freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and wanting to limit the freedom of speech enjoyed by many social media platforms. The unfortunate truth of Ressa’s fight against the growing Tech Giants such as Facebook, is that there is currently no largely effective nor successful route to limit the spread of lies and misinformation.
