The difference between Rappler and other newsgroups in the Philippines is that journalists control Rappler both editorially and commercially. We make decisions that are bad for business but protect the public sphere.
Maria RessaRead
The social media platforms have taken over the distribution of news globally. They treat a lie the same way you would treat a fact.
Interpretation
Social media has a significant impact on how news is shared and received, often blurring the lines between truth and falsehood.
Maria Ressa's quote highlights the profound effect of social media platforms on the dissemination of news around the world. In an age where information spreads rapidly, these platforms can treat misinformation with the same level of visibility and engagement as factual news, leading to a distorted understanding of reality and challenging the public's ability to discern truth from falsehood.
In practice
In a keynote speech at a media conference, one could use this quote to emphasize the challenges journalists face today.
The difference between Rappler and other newsgroups in the Philippines is that journalists control Rappler both editorially and commercially. We make decisions that are bad for business but protect the public sphere.
If you want to rip the heart out of a democracy, you go after the facts. That's what modern authoritarians do. You lie. All the time. Then, you say it's your opponents and the journalists who lie.
Embrace your fear. Imagine what you're most afraid of, touch it and hold it so that you rob it of its power.
Let me go back to a fundamental thing we all used to agree on: information is power. That's why we became journalists in the first place.
Technology enabled Rappler's fast growth starting in 2012, but we were also among the first victims when social media was weaponized in 2016.
In 14 months, my government, the Philippine 2 government, has filed 11 cases. I posted bail eight times, I've been arrested twice in five weeks, detained once, and the only thing I've done, my only crime is to be a journalist, to speak truth to power.
The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move faster, and continue to transform.
Why don't I talk about Big Data? Because I am focused on intelligent answers and not speeds and feeds. It doesn't matter if it is quick if it's the wrong answer.
The greatest single programming language ever designed
Each new tool we create ends an old relationship with the world and starts a new one. And we're changed by that relationship, inevitably. It changes the way we live, changes our patterns, changes our social organization.
We're in a situation where the solutions that we have are not good enough. The way to improve anything is to have a discussion about its flaws. To understand what the one or two or three things are about it that would help fix it. The DMCA makes it dangerous to have that conversation.
Without sounding too clichΓ©, the Internet really is the birth of some kind of global mind.
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