Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov share Nobel Peace Prize for freedom of expression fight
The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to journalists Maria Ressa of the Phillipines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia.
“Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the committee.
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“Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it will be difficult to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament and a better world order to succeed in our time,” she said.
Ms Ressa in 2012 co-founded Rappler, a news website that has focused “critical attention on the (President Rodrigo) Duterte regime’s controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign”, the Nobel committee said.
She and Rappler “have also documented how social media is being used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse”.
Reacting to the Nobel news, Ms Ressa told Norway’s TV2 channel that “the government (of the Philippines) will obviously not be happy”.
“I’m a little shocked. It’s really emotional,” she added. “But I am happy on behalf of my team and would like to thank the Nobel committee for recognising what we are going through.”
Mr Muratov was one of the founders of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta in 1993.
“Novaya Gazeta is the most independent newspaper in Russia today, with a fundamentally critical attitude towards power,” the committee said.
“The newspaper’s fact-based journalism and professional integrity have made it an important source of information on censurable aspects of Russian society rarely mentioned by other media.”
The Nobel committee noted that since the launch of Novaya Gazeta, six of its journalists have been killed, including Anna Politkovskaya, who covered Russia’s bloody conflict in Chechnya.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hailed Mr Muratov as a “talented and brave” person.
“We can congratulate Dmitry Muratov — he has consistently worked in accordance with his ideals,” Mr Peskov said in a conference call with reporters after the prize was announced.
Ms Reiss-Andersen noted that the peace prize has gone to journalists in the past, including Ernesto Teodoro Moneta of Italy, who was cited in 1907 “for his work in the press and in peace meetings”.
In 1935, Carl von Ossietzky was awarded the prize “for his burning love for freedom of thought and expression” after revealing that Germany was secretly re-arming after the First World War.
Ms Reiss-Andersen also noted the risks to free speech in today’s world due to the spread of fake news, noting that Ms Ressa has been critical of Facebook’s role in manipulating public debate.
“Conveying fake news and information that is propaganda and untrue is also a violation of freedom of expression, and all freedom of expression has its limitations. That is also a very important factor in this debate,” she said.
The prestigious award is accompanied by a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (£836,000). The prize money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.
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