The social media platforms have taken over the distribution of news globally. They treat a lie the same way you would treat a fact.
Maria RessaRead
In 14 months, my government, the Philippine 2 government, has filed 11 cases. I posted bail eight times, I've been arrested twice in five weeks, detained once, and the only thing I've done, my only crime is to be a journalist, to speak truth to power.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the struggle and sacrifices a journalist makes in the pursuit of truth and justice.
Maria Ressa's quote illustrates the personal and professional risks faced by journalists who confront authority and expose injustices. Despite facing numerous legal challenges and detentions, she emphasizes that her only 'crime' is her commitment to reporting the truth, which portrays the inherent dangers of speaking out against power and underscores the vital role of journalism in a democratic society.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech addressing the importance of press freedom.
The social media platforms have taken over the distribution of news globally. They treat a lie the same way you would treat a fact.
The difference between Rappler and other newsgroups in the Philippines is that journalists control Rappler both editorially and commercially. We make decisions that are bad for business but protect the public sphere.
If you want to rip the heart out of a democracy, you go after the facts. That's what modern authoritarians do. You lie. All the time. Then, you say it's your opponents and the journalists who lie.
Embrace your fear. Imagine what you're most afraid of, touch it and hold it so that you rob it of its power.
Let me go back to a fundamental thing we all used to agree on: information is power. That's why we became journalists in the first place.
Technology enabled Rappler's fast growth starting in 2012, but we were also among the first victims when social media was weaponized in 2016.
How can any man be weak who dares to be at all?
The battle goes on for me; as a gay man, I shall not be happy until I see equality across the board.
The brave and bold persist even against fortune; the timid and cowardly rush to despair though fear alone.
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
It is important not only to have the awareness and to feel impelled to become involved, it's important that there be a forum out there to which one can relate, an organization- a movement.
They tried their best to find a place where I was isolated. But all the resources of a superpower cannot isolate the man who hears a voice of freedom, a voice I heard from the very chamber of my soul.
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