Civil society must do more to engage in defending the “last two minutes of democracy” against disinformation, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and journalist Maria Ressa told an international democracy event in Taipei yesterday.
Speaking on the second day of the Global Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy, Ressa said the world is now in the final “two minutes of democracy,” as false news reports and disinformation are being spread much faster than facts on social media platforms.
“Why is it the last two minutes and in this democracy? Because if you don’t have integrity of facts, you don’t have integrity of elections, right? If you don’t know the facts, how are you going to vote for the right person?” asked Ressa, who is chairwoman of the World Movement for Democracy’s steering committee.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
In the fight against disinformation, the media have limitations and more civil engagement is needed, she said.
“I think the journalists have done our jobs. Well, we keep doing, we keep trying, but it’s almost like we’re just putting our finger in the dam and it’s about to collapse,” she said.
Whether people can win this fight depends on the engagement of everyone, she said.
“I could go to jail for the rest of my life. You have to ask yourself the question: What are you willing to sacrifice? Because this time is when you can be a force for good. And silence or apathy becomes a force for evil. Please act, we must do something,” she said.
Ressa, 59, is an award-winning journalist who opened and ran CNN’s Jakarta bureau from 1995 to 2005, and later headed the newsroom of ABS-CBN, the biggest broadcaster in the Philippines, before cofounding Rappler.
The Philippine-American won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her commitment to free expression, human dignity and democratic government in reporting on the administration of then-Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.
On June 15, 2020, a court in Manila found her guilty of cybercrimes under the country’s anti-cybercrime law, a decision that was condemned by human rights groups and journalists as an attack on press freedom.
Ressa is out on bail as she appeals the sentence.
The 11th World Movement for Democracy global assembly, which ends today, is being attended by 300 rights advocates, politicians and donors from 70 countries to discuss ways to counter authoritarian challenges and foster democratic momentum.
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