Freedom fighter Maria Ressa on how disinformation degrades democracy

Nobel Laureate and legendary Filipino-American investigative journalist Maria Ressa has been on the frontlines of the fight for democracy for decades. Ressa knows very well what happens when democracy is eroded and disinformation is rampant. And she knows how not to let it become routine and numbing. At great risk to her own life, she has taken on anti-democratic forces on several fronts, from Al-Qaeda terrorists in the aughts to present day authoritarians. And she's paid dearly for it. She’s faced trumped-up criminal charges in her native country after the news site she founded, Rappler, published a series of stories exposing government corruption, and scrutinized former president Rodrigo Duterte's bloody war on drugs that left thousands dead or disappeared. And just last week she was acquitted of a contrived tax evasion charge by a court in the Philippines. It's the latest victory, not just for Maria Ressa herself, but for her country's fight for press freedom. And the fight for Press Freedom is the fight for freedom, itself.

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