‘We are playing one to one defense of our values’
Two journalist giants – one quite tall and the other rather much less tall- were standing together in Oslo receiving the Nobel Peace prize for their courageous fight for freedom of expression.
Maria Ressa, founder and editor of Philippine website Rappler and Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Russian Novaya Gazeta were together symbolizing what the Norwegian Nobel committee said in its decision to give them the award:
“They are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions”.
Muratov closed his speech asking the audience to rise “and honour my and Maria Ressa’s reporter colleagues, who have given their lives for this profession, with a minute of silence, and let us give our support to those who suffer persecution. I want journalists to die old.”
Ressa addressed how social media can be used in negative ways. “Our greatest need today is to transform that hate and violence, the toxic sludge that’s coursing through our information ecosystem, prioritized by American internet companies that make more money by spreading that hate and triggering the worst in us. Well, that just means we have to work harder. In order to be the good, we have to believe there is good in the world.”
“Democracy has become a woman-to-woman, man-to-man defense of our values. We’re at a sliding door moment, where we can continue down the path we’re on and descend further into fascism or we can choose to fight for a better world.”
“To do that, please, ask yourself: What are YOU willing to sacrifice for the truth?” she asked.
Muratov quoted physicist and dissident, Andrej Sacharov’s Nobel lecture, read by his wife Yelena Bonner: “Peace, progress, human rights – these three goals are insolubly linked to one another.”
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