Bits & Pretzels #7 Investigative Journalist got 90 Hate Messages an Hour

Maria Ressa, the co-founder of news website Rappler, has been to jail several times and threatened with rape – but she won’t stop

Investigative reporter Maria Ressa, the co-founder and CEO of popular news website Rappler, disclosed the spread of fake-news by supporters of Rodrigo Duterte, the President of the Philippines, and Facebook's role in the massive manipulation. That made her a very powerful enemy.

Ressa spent two decades working as an investigative reporter, foreign correspondent and was bureau chief for CNN in Manila and Jakarta before starting Rappler. In 2018, Time Magazine named her "Person of the Year".

Rappler spot-lighted the dealings of the troll army of President Duterte in 2016 and minutely chronicled the spread of fake news on Facebook to manipulate public opinion about Duterte’s presidency and state-supported extrajudicial killings in the so-called "war on drugs".

As a result, Maria became the target of Duterte's supporters. And she also turned into one of Facebook's harsh critics. Her core statements: "Social media now allows lies". And: "Democracy as we know it, is dead".

Hosts:
Britta Weddeling, Editor-in-Chief of Bits & Pretzels

Featuring:
Maria Ressa, co-founder & CEO Rappler

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