MANILA, Philippines — Journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia have been awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nobel prize-giving committee recognized the two journalists for their continuing fight to uphold the freedom of expression in nations where journalists have faced persistent attacks.
Ressa and Muratov are both known for their investigations that have irked their countries’ rulers. Both journalists have faced constant threats and abuse from their respective governments.
“Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda. Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it will be difficult to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament and a better world order to succeed in our time.”
The norwegian nobel committee
Maria Ressa’s fight to uphold press freedom
Ressa, co-founder investigative news site Rappler, focused primarily on Philippine President Duterte’s violent and controversial war on drugs. Her team also documented how social media is being used to spread fake news and propaganda in order to manipulate the general public.
Ressa was then convicted of cyber-libel and sentenced to jail in 2020. Journalists from around the world saw this as a major blow to global press freedom. The Nobel Committee has commended Ressa for “using freedom of expression to expose the abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines.”