Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa flags big tech among democracy’s biggest threat

Speaking at the National Press Club on Monday, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa has warned Australia about the growing threat of disinformation and the role of big tech in undermining democratic values. She called on the government to take urgent steps to protect both journalists and the public in the digital age.

Maria Ressa is the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner and co-founder of news website Rappler. Source: AAP

Key Points

• Highlighting the dangers of social media algorithms and generative AI, Ressa stressed that these technologies are not merely tools for communication, they have become mechanisms for information warfare that threaten democratic institutions.
• Ressa drew from her experience in the Philippines, where online disinformation campaigns were weaponized during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
• She praised Australia’s new law restricting social media access for children under 16, describing it as a historic move to protect public safety.

LISTEN TO

Maria Ressa sa NPC: Big tech isang malaking banta sa demokrasya

SBS Filipino

11:25Filipino

Without facts, you cannot have truth. Without truth, you cannot have trust. Without trust, democracy cannot survive

Maria Ressa, Journalist and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate

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