My journey began in the Philippines, a childhood marked by a move to America that taught me early lessons in facing fears and standing up to bullies. I found my calling in journalism, a path that led me through CNN bureaus in Manila and Jakarta, shaping my understanding of power and its abuses. Yet, it was the digital age that truly transformed the battlefield, and my return to the Philippines would place me at the heart of a war for truth itself.
In 2012, I co-founded Rappler, an online news organization born with the hope that technology could empower citizens and strengthen democracy. We embraced the emerging power of social media, crowdsourcing news and fostering collective action. We believed in its promise, seeing it as a tool to increase voter knowledge and participation. But this digital world, once a source of hope, quickly revealed its darker side, transforming into a cesspit of trolls and misinformation.
The insidious spread of disinformation, particularly through platforms like Facebook, became a profound threat to democratic processes. I witnessed firsthand how these platforms, driven by profit-seeking algorithms and a lack of accountability, were weaponized by authoritarian leaders to manipulate public opinion and undermine independent journalism. The Philippines, I came to realize, was an early testing ground for this weaponization of the internet, incubating and distributing disinformation campaigns that would soon mirror those seen globally.
My work exposing these disinformation networks, which were seeded by my own government and spread lies laced with anger and hate, landed me in direct confrontation with President Rodrigo Duterte. The state, through its allies and the legal system, began to hound me, issuing multiple arrest warrants and charging me with crimes like cyber-libel. I faced the daunting prospect of a hundred years behind bars, a testament to the lengths to which those in power would go to silence the truth.
Despite the constant threats, the arrests, and the financial peril, I refused to yield. The struggle, though terrifying, strengthened my resolve to defend democracy against autocracy. I learned to build an "emotional armor," recognizing that while fear is real, it cannot be allowed to dictate our actions. We at Rappler developed tools like the Sharktank database to combat the apathy of social media giants and the political lies, meticulously mapping billions of posts to identify those meant to mislead.
Democracy, I discovered, dies by a thousand cuts, and an invisible atom bomb of disinformation has exploded online, threatening our freedoms worldwide. This network of deceit has spread globally, from Duterte's drug wars to events like America's Capitol Hill insurrection and Britain's Brexit. My experiences in the Philippines are not isolated; they are a stark warning about the global nature of these threats to journalism and the rule of law.
Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 was a profound moment, yet the fight continued, especially with the 2022 Philippine elections seeing the return to power of the Marcos family. To combat this erosion of truth and safeguard our future, I believe we must adopt a three-pillar approach: leveraging technology responsibly, vigorously supporting investigative journalism, and actively building communities of action. The time to act is now, to "hold the line" for democracy and free expression, before the weaponization of information accelerates beyond our control.
