Journalists Maria Ressa from the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov from Russia were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their fight for freedom of expression in countries where the media are under constant attack.
Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, announced the names of the winners.
“Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,” said Reiss-Andersen. “Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it will be difficult to successfully promote brotherhood among nations, disarmament and a better world order to succeed in our time.”
Ressa is one of the founders of Rappler, a news site opened in 2012 that has focused “critical attention on the controversial and deadly anti-drug campaign of (President Rodrigo) Duterte’s regime,” the Nobel committee noted.
According to the institution, she and Rappler “have also documented the use of social networks to spread false news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse.”
Speaking to Norwegian television station TV2 after the news was known, Ressa said that “obviously, the government (of the Philippines) will not be happy.”
“I am a bit surprised. It’s very exciting, ”he added. “But I am happy on behalf of my team and I would like to thank the Nobel Committee for recognizing what we are going through.”
The renowned journalist was found guilty of defamation and sentenced to jail last year, in a decision considered a severe blow to press freedom around the world.
She is the first woman to win a Nobel this year.
Muratov is part of the team that founded the independent Russian daily Novaya Gazeta in 1993.
“Novaya Gazeta is the most important independent newspaper in Russia today, with a fundamentally critical attitude towards power,” the Committee said.
“The journalism of the newspaper, based on facts and professional integrity, has made it an important source of information on objectionable aspects of Russian society that are rarely mentioned by other media,” he said.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in the last decade 17 media workers have been killed in the Philippines, and 23 in Russia.
The Nobel jury said that since the launch of Novaya Gazeta, six of its journalists have died, including Anna Politkovskaya, who covered the bloody conflict in Russia’s Chechnya region.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Muratov as a “talented and courageous person.”
“We can congratulate Dmitry Muratov: he has consistently worked according to his ideals, he has adhered to his ideals, he is talented and courageous. It is an important award and we congratulate it, ”Peskov said at a press conference after the announcement.
This is not the first time the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to journalists, Reiss-Andersen said. In 1907, the Italian Ernesto Teodoro Moneta was recognized for “his work in the press and at peace meetings,” and in 1935, Carl von Ossietzky won it “for his ardent love for freedom of thought and expression” after revealing that Germany it was secretly rearming itself after the First World War.
Ressa, who has been critical of Facebook’s role in manipulating the public debate, said in statements to her portal after the announcement that the “virus of lies that has been introduced through the algorithms of social media platforms infects real people and it changes them ”.
For his part, Reiss-Andersen highlighted that among the risks that freedom of expression runs in today’s world is the spread of false news: “Transmitting false news and information that is propaganda and false is also a violation of freedom of expression, and all freedom of expression has its limitations. This is also a very important factor in this debate ”.
Reporters Without Borders celebrated the award expressing “joy and urgency”.
“Joy because this is an extraordinary tribute to journalism, an excellent tribute to all journalists who take risks around the world to defend the right to information,” said the director of the rights group, Christophe Deloire, from its headquarters in Paris . RSF has worked with Ressa and Muratov to defend journalism in their countries, and is often criticized by authoritarian governments.
“And also urgency because this will be a decisive decade for journalism. Journalism is in danger, journalism is weakened, journalism is threatened, ”added Deloire. “Democracies are weakened by misinformation, by rumors, by hate speech.”
“This award is a great sign, a very powerful message to defend journalism everywhere,” he added.
The winners receive a gold medal and 10 million Swedish crowns (more than 1.14 million dollars) that come from the legacy left by the founder of the awards, the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, on his death in 1895.
The Nobel Committee on Monday awarded the Medicine Prize to Americans David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries about how the human body perceives temperature and touch.
The Physicist recognized Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi for helping to explain and predict the complex forces of nature, increasing understanding of climate change. And Chemistry awarded Benjamin List and David WC MacMillan for finding an “ingenious” way to build molecules that can be used to make everything from medicines to flavorings.
The Nobel Prize for Literature, announced Thursday, went to Britain-based Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah, whose work explores the profound impact of migration on uprooted people and the places where they make new homes.
On Monday the last of the awards, the Economy one, will be announced.
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