Filipino journalist Maria Ressa received the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to protect freedom of expression. She spent several decades working for CNN in Asia and later headed the news division of the Philippines’ largest mediaconglomerate, ABS-CBN. Exhausted by breaking news, Ressa left the media giant in 2010 and wrote her second book.Yet just two years later, she launched the online outlet Rappler.
One of the site’s main focuses was combating disinformation and corruption, as well as documenting human rightsabuses committed by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte launched what he called a “war on drugs,” but used it to sow fear across the country. According to Ressa, in his desire to control the army and police, he granted security forces the power to kill people with impunity. During the first three years of his rule, up to 28,000 Filipinos were killedunder the “war on drugs.”
Because of Rappler’s criticism of the authorities, dozens of criminal cases were opened against the outlet andits journalists. Maria Ressa could have ended up in prison for a long time at any moment. Today, only one criminal case against her remains before the Philippine Supreme Court, and Ressa’s lawyer is Amal Clooney. In March 2025, Duterte was arrested on a warrant from the International Criminal Courtand is currently being held in a detention facility in The Hague. He is accused of crimes against humanity committed during his “war on drugs.”
Journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk speaks with Maria Ressa about the “war on drugs” in the Philippines and Duterte’s persecution, the role of tech giants in the erosion of democracy, the virus of disinformation and its impact on societies, and how Ressa manages to work from different corners of the planet.
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