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Maria Ressa

Filipino-American journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

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Ressa was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Dmitry Muratov for safeguarding freedom of expression.[1][2] Born on October 2, 1963, in Manila, Philippines, Maria Angelita Ressa (née Delfin Aycardo) holds both Filipino and American citizenship and is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.[3][4] Rappler, an online news site, was co-founded by Ressa, who also holds the position of its chief executive officer.[3][5]

Last updated 2026-10-07 from the source article.

Life and work

A court found her guilty of cyberlibel on June 15, 2020, a move condemned by human rights groups.[1][6] In 1986, Ressa completed a Bachelor of Arts in English at Princeton University, achieving cum laude honors.[7] For close to twenty years, Ressa worked as CNN's primary investigative reporter across Southeast Asia, with a focus on terrorist networks.[3][8] Rappler was launched in 2012 by Ressa together with three other women and a small initial staff.[9]

Since 2023, Ressa has been a distinguished fellow at Columbia University's Institute of Global Politics, and she started a professorship there in July 2024.[3][10] For their work fighting fake news, Ressa and other journalists were collectively named Time's Person of the Year in 2018.[1][11] Philippine authorities arrested Ressa on February 13, 2019, on a charge of cyberlibel.[1][12]

What the cited sources add

The Guardian account notes that Ressa's role at Rappler won her plaudits worldwide and that she was among journalists named Time Person of the Year 2018.[11] The Guardian also reports that Ressa and Duterte have been crossing paths for over 30 years.[11] The Straits Times reports that Ressa was sentenced to up to six years in jail but could post bail and appeal.[13] The Straits Times also notes that the case stemmed from a 2012 story about businessman Wilfredo D. Keng.[13]

A Rappler article notes that Ressa became the first Filipino to win the Nobel Peace Prize.[14]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Maria Ressa" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Philippines: CFWIJ condemns cyber libel conviction of Maria Ressa", The Coalition For Women In Journalism, June 15, 2020; "US Senators Durbin, Markey, Leahy slam Ressa libel verdict", Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 17, 2020; Cabato, "Conviction of Maria Ressa, hard-hitting Philippine American journalist, sparks condemnation", The Washington Post, June 15, 2020; Leung, "Philippines Journalist Maria Ressa Released on Bail After Arrest for 'Cyber Libel'", February 14, 2019; Gonzales, "Robredo: Ressa's cyber libel conviction a threat to Filip en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Maria Ressa" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Nobel Peace Prize 2021", NobelPrize.org, October 8, 2021; Aronson-Rath, "We Will 'Hold the Line': A Year-End Message from FRONTLINE's Executive Producer", FRONTLINE, December 30, 2021 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Maria Ressa" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa to Join SIPA Faculty", Columbia.edu (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Maria Ressa" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "When fake news made Maria Ressa an 'Indonesian citizen'", VERA Files, 2021-10-27; "Maria Ressa", Nobelprize.org; "When fake news made Maria Ressa an 'Indonesian citizen'", VERA Files, 2021-10-27; "Courage springs from childhood", Philstar.com, 2023-01-27; "When fake news made Maria Ressa an 'Indonesian citizen'", VERA Files, 2021-10-27 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Maria Ressa" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ellis-Petersen, "Maria Ressa: everything you need to know about the Rappler editor", The Guardian, June 15, 2020 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Maria Ressa" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ratcliffe, "Maria Ressa: Rappler editor found guilty of cyber libel charges in Philippines", The Guardian, June 15, 2020; Regencia, "Maria Ressa found guilty in blow to Philippines' press freedom", Al Jazeera English, June 15, 2020; "Philippines: Maria Ressa's cyber libel verdict 'a method of silencing dissent'", Deutsche Welle, June 15, 2020; "Philippine cybercrime law takes effect amid protests", BBC News, October 3, 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Maria Ressa" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pobre, "10 Facts About Nobel Winner Maria Ressa, Including Her Childhood In The PH & Her Stint At CNN", thesmartlocal.ph, October 12, 2021; Johnson, "Memo from a 'Facebook nation' to Mark Zuckerberg: You moved fast and broke our country.", Vox, November 26, 2018; Amanda Oglesby: TIME person of the year, from Toms River, to trigger Time Square ball dro. Ashbury Park Press, 31. Dezember 2018; "'Journalists are under attack globally': Maria Ressa", South China Morning Post, May 26, 2019; "Maria Ressa : HuMan of the year", Spinbusters; "Maria R en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Maria Ressa" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Maria A. Ressa", RSF, September 9, 2018; "Life, the news, and Maria Ressa by Doreen Yu", The Philippine STAR; Lagrimas, "Rappler CEO Maria Ressa arrested for cyber libel", GMA Network, February 13, 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Maria Ressa" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "MovePH", Facebook; Arsenault, "'Democracy as we know it is dead': Filipino journalists fight fake news", CBC News, April 27, 2017; Ressa, "About Rappler", Rappler (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Maria Ressa" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Powell, "Journalist and Kennedy School fellow Maria Ressa awarded Nobel Peace Prize", The Harvard Gazette, October 8, 2021; "Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa to Join SIPA Faculty", Columbia.edu; Schmidt, "Second Kofi Annan Lecture Features Maria Ressa, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and CEO of Rappler", International Peace Institute, September 26, 2024; "Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa to Join SIPA Faculty", Columbia.edu (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Ellis-Petersen, "Maria Ressa: everything you need to know about the Rappler editor", The Guardian, June 15, 2020. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  12. Wikipedia, "Maria Ressa" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mike, "How correcting a typo got Maria into trouble: The cyberlibel case vs Rappler", ABS-CBN, June 14, 2020; Hermes Auto, "Philippines arrests top journalist and Duterte critic Maria Ressa on libel charge", The Straits Times, February 13, 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Dancel, "Court finds prominent Philippine journalist and Duterte critic Maria Ressa guilty of cyber-libel", The Straits Times, June 15, 2020. facts only, no text reused. straitstimes.com
  14. Gavilan, "What you need to know: Filipinos and the Nobel Peace Prize", Rappler, October 9, 2021. facts only, no text reused. rappler.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Maria Ressa (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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