Nobel Peace Prize winner criticizes Facebook for 'prioritizing the spread of lies'

In an interview on October 9 after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Ressa, a veteran journalist and co-founder of the Philippine investigative news outlet Rappler, said Facebook's algorithms "prioritize the spread of lies, accompanied by anger and hatred towards the truth."

"Without facts, you can't have reason and trust. Without any of those, you can't have a democracy. Furthermore, without facts, the real situation is not shared, which makes it impossible to solve current problems like climate, Covid-19," Ressa said.

Journalist Maria Ressa, one of the two winners of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, in Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on October 9. Photo: Reuters.

Ressa has accused Facebook of being “anti-truth and anti-journalism” despite becoming the world’s largest news distribution platform. Her newspaper Rappler has been doing fact-checking for Facebook in the Philippines in its fight against fake news.

As one of the most prominent critics of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his tough anti-drug campaign, Ressa has been the target of fierce attacks on Facebook by the president’s supporters, who Ressa says are aimed at damaging her reputation and that of Rappler.

Ressa's comments are seen as adding to pressure on Facebook, which has more than 3 billion users, after a former Facebook employee accused the company of putting profits ahead of curbing fake news and hate speech. Facebook has denied any wrongdoing.

Following Ressa’s interview, a Facebook spokesperson said they will continue to invest heavily to remove and reduce the visibility of harmful content. “We believe in freedom of the press and will support news organizations and journalists around the world to continue their important work,” the spokesperson said.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee on October 8 announced that Ressa and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov were the winners of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for "their efforts to defend freedom of expression." "They are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal, in a world where democracy and press freedom face increasingly unfavorable conditions," Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Berit Reiss-Andersen said at a press conference in Oslo.

Ressa, 58, said the award was for Rappler's reporters and editors, who have been fighting for the truth since 2016. "In the fight for truth, I think the Nobel Committee recognizes that a world without truth is a world without faith and reason," she said.