Philippine Nobel winner Ressa calls Facebook "biased against facts"
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[October 09, 2021]
By Karen Lema
MANILA (Reuters) - Nobel Peace Prize winner
Maria Ressa used her new prominence to criticise Facebook as a threat to
democracy, saying the social media giant fails to protect against the
spread of hate and disinformation and is "biased against facts".
The veteran journalist and head of Philippine news site Rappler told
Reuters in an interview after winning the award that Facebook's
algorithms "prioritise the spread of lies laced with anger and hate over
facts."
Her comments add to the pile of recent pressure on Facebook, used by
more than 3 billion people, which a former employee turned whistleblower
accused of putting profit over the need to curb hate speech and
misinformation. Facebook denies any wrongdoing.
A representative for Facebook in the Philippines did not respond to
requests for comment on Ressa's remarks.
Ressa shared the Nobel with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov on Friday,
for what the committee called braving the wrath of the leaders of the
Philippines and Russia to expose corruption and misrule, in an
endorsement of free speech under fire worldwide.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Oct/09/images/ads/current/graue_preowned_100421.png)
Facebook has become the world's largest distributor of news and "yet it
is biased against facts, it is biased against journalism," Ressa said.
"If you have no facts, you can't have truths, you can't' have trust. If
you don't have any of these, you don't have a democracy," she said.
"Beyond that, if you don't have facts, you don't' have a shared reality,
so you can't solve the existential problems of climate, coronavirus."
Ressa has been the target of intense social-media hatred campaigns from
President Rodrigo Duterte's supporters, which she said were aimed at
destroying her and Rappler's credibility.
ELECTION 'A BATTLE FOR FACTS'
"These online attacks on social media have a purpose, they are targeted,
they are used like a weapon," said the former CNN journalist.
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![](../images/100921pics/news_q63.jpg)
Filipino journalist and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, one of 2021 Nobel
Peace Prize winners, poses for a portrait in Taguig City, Metro
Manila, Philippines, October 9, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
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Rappler's reporting has included close scrutiny of
Duterte's deadly war on drugs and a series of investigative reports
into what it says is his government's strategy to "weaponise" the
internet, using bloggers on its payroll to stir up anger among
online supporters who threaten and discredit Duterte's critics.
Duterte has not commented on Ressa's award. The presidential palace,
Duterte's spokesperson, his chief legal counsel, and communications
office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Facebook in March 2019 removed an online network in the Philippines
for "coordinated inauthentic behaviour ", and linked it to a
businessman who has previously said he helped manage the president's
social media election campaign in 2016.
Filipinos top the world in time spent on social media, according to
2021 studies by social media management firms.
Platforms like Facebook have become political battlegrounds and have
helped strengthen Duterte's support base, having been instrumental
in his election victory in 2016 and a rout by his allies in mid-term
polls last year.
The Philippines will hold an election in May to choose a successor
to Duterte, who under the constitution is not allowed to seek
another term.
That campaign "will be a battle for facts," Ressa said. "We are
going to keep making sure our public sees the facts, understands it.
We are not going to be harassed or intimidated into silence."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Oct/09/images/ads/current/safety-tip-daily-1.png)
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by William Mallard)
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