Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work to preserve and uphold freedom of the press in their respective countries.
Ressa is CEO of Rappler, a Philippine news outlet and frequent critic of President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime. Muratov is the editor and co-founder of independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
In its statement announcing the winners, the Nobel committee called Ressa a “a fearless defender of freedom of expression” and cited Rappler for its attention on the Duterte regime’s controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign, as well as how social media is being used to spread fake news, harass opponents, and manipulate public discourse.
Rappler posted video of Ressa’s reaction to the win.
Where was Rappler CEO @mariaressa when she found out she was one of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates for 2021? In the middle of a live webinar about independent journalism. Watch it here.
Read the story: https://t.co/Xtr0VsxMrf pic.twitter.com/BHiWm398LO
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) October 8, 2021
Muratov has been the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta for 24 years, which the Nobel committee described as “an important source of information on censurable aspects of Russian society rarely mentioned by other media.” Six of the paper’s journalists have been killed due to their work over the years, and the committee hailed Muratov for refusing to abandon the paper’s independent policy despite many threats.
The committee said in its statement that awarding the two journalists this prize is “intended to underscore the importance of protecting and defending these fundamental rights.”
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