Maria Ressa
Maria Ressa is a Filipino-American journalist and author, best known for co-founding Rappler as its Chief Executive Officer. She previously spent nearly two decades working as a lead investigative reporter in Southeast Asia for CNN.
Ressa was included in Time‘s Person of the Year 2018 as one of a collection of journalists from around the world combating fake news. On February 13, 2019, she was arrested for “cyberlibel” due to accusations that Rappler published a false news story concerning businessman Wilfredo Keng. On June 15, 2020, a court in Manila found her guilty of cyberlibel. As she is an outspoken critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, her arrest was seen by many in the international media and the opposition Liberal Party as a politically motivated act by Duterte’s government.
Ressa is one of the 25 leading figures on the Information and Democracy Commission launched by Reporters Without Borders.