On Oct. 8, 2021, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, of the Philippines and Russia, respectively. While this is culturally an important award, you might be wondering why this is something we would focus on here at Borasaek Vision. These two people are not ARMY and don’t have any ties to BTS (at least at this stage). However, their joint awarding is equally impactful for us here as any of BTS’ achievements. It impacts our right to exist.
Because both Ressa and Muratov are journalists.
Ressa has an additional victory that comes along with the award: she is only the 18th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in the 126 years that the award has been presented, according to the New York Times’ fact sheet accompanying their article on the awards, and additionally, she is the first Filipina to ever win a Nobel prize according to The Washington Post. These two facts on their own are important in the effort to have increased diversity in all aspects of our society. It is crucial to hear the voices of women and POCs where they have historically been underrepresented. For this, we also offer our congratulations to Maria Ressa for her tireless efforts.
These specific efforts are what also make this year’s award relevant to us as an organization, but the significance is not limited to just those who create news. Ressa and Muratov were named the joint winners of the prize for their efforts in their home countries, which are both known worldwide for their anti-press regulations.
At a press conference in Oslo announcing the prize, Berit Reiss-Andersen, chairperson of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, stated that the two journalists were given the award due to “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” She added that “at the same time, they are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.” (Read more about it here, courtesy of CNN.)
Both journalists are founders of independent news organizations within their home countries. Ressa’s digital media platform, Rappler, founded in 2012, was created specifically for investigative journalism. Reiss-Andersen states in her speech that “Rappler has focused critical attention to the Duterte regime’s controversial murderous anti-drug campaign. The number of deaths is so high that the campaign resembles a war waged against the country’s own population. Ms. Ressa and Rappler have documented how social media is being used to spread fake news, harass opponents, and manipulate the public discourse.”
For Muratov’s part, he was one of the founders of Novaya Gazeta in 1993 and has been its editor-in-chief for 24 years according to the award announcement speech. “The newspaper's fact-based journalism and professional integrity have made it an important source of information on censurable aspects of Russian society rarely mentioned by other media,” they stated, adding that Muratov “consistently defended the right of journalists to write anything they want about whatever they want, as long as they comply with the professional and ethical standards of journalism.”
Both organizations have faced hardships in their tenures. Since its founding, according to the Nobel Committee, six members of Novaya Gazeta have been killed (presumably for their work); one notable example is Anna Politkovskaya, who wrote articles about the war in Chechnya.
Over the past several years, both Rappler and Ressa herself have been tied up in legal battles with the Duterte government for their articles — according to The Washington Post, after Duterte won the 2016 presidential election, Rappler began its investigations into pro-Duterte camps spreading fake news and the administration’s aggressive anti-drug campaign (which has resulted in a dramatic increase in “extrajudicial killings,” also reported on by The Washington Post). Since that investigation, the Duterte administration has launched counter investigations into Rappler, issued multiple arrest warrants for Ressa, and found Ressa guilty of cyber-libel.
Even outside of official courts, Ressa and Rappler have been targeted — Ressa has received hate messages, and the Duterte administration has called Rappler “fake news.” Multiple parties in the Philippines have objected to Ressa receiving the Nobel Peace Prize; The Washington Post reports that even as the Duterte administration claimed the award as a “victory for a Filipina,” they also brought up specifically that she was convicted of libel, and a conservative newspaper outlet, Manila Standard, stated that the award was “undeserved” and given with an “ulterior motive.”
Ressa’s arrest and subsequent conviction for libel was another blow in an ongoing struggle against the suppression of freedom of expression. The organization Reporters Without Borders, a media monitoring group, reported to CNN in 2020 that, if there had been a free press in China, the rest of the world would likely have known about the coronavirus outbreak sooner and could have prevented the worldwide pandemic whose effects we are still combatting over a year and a half later. In their most recent World Press Freedom Index, the group reports that in 73% of the 180 countries that they evaluate journalism is either “totally blocked or seriously impeded.” Among the highest-rated are Norway, Sweden, and Denmark while among the lowest-rated are China, North Korea, and Eritrea. The Philippines and Russia fall at 138 and 150 on this list, respectively, while the United Kingdom is at 33, South Korea at 42, and the United States at 44, to name a few in the middling section.
During the Trump administration, the United States faced a president that has a long history of demeaning the press, as reported by USA Today and the Committee to Protect Journalists in their special report published in April 2020. The CPJ report begins with the following:
“The Trump administration has stepped up prosecutions of news sources, interfered in the business of media owners, harassed journalists crossing U.S. borders, and empowered foreign leaders to restrict their own media. But Trump’s most effective ploy has been to destroy the credibility of the press, dangerously undermining truth and consensus even as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to kill tens of thousands of Americans.”
In the report, Paul Steiger, former editor for The Wall Street Journal and founder of ProPublica, states, “We now have some of the best news organizations that the world has known. But Trump has created a climate in which the best news, most fact-checked news is not being believed by many people.”
With all this in mind, the Nobel Peace Prize is a poignant note of support. While the Nobel prizes are not without controversy, especially the Peace Prize due to its inherently political nature (check out the breakdown of some of these controversial decisions here, courtesy of Vox Media), they are some of the biggest and most prestigious awards out there. It still says something to receive one, and the reasons behind why they are handed out (and to whom) can be important.
In an age when the right to have information is being thrown into question, what might it mean that the Nobel Committee chose to give its most notable award to two journalists who have been working tirelessly in some of the hardest-pressed countries? Ressa, at least, hopes that it will spur on other investigative journalists “that will hold power to account,” she told the Associated Press. She further states that “I didn’t think that what we are going through would get that attention. But the fact that it did also shows you how important the battles we face are, right?” Muratov, instead of keeping the prize money for himself, has indicated that he will divide his earnings between helping Moscow hospice and children with spinal problems and assisting additional independent media (reported to the Associated Press).
While political scientist Ron Krebs stated to The Washington Post that, historically, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize has not had direct political impacts, it is possible that it will indirectly have some influence.
With the presentation of these awards, the world is watching. People are taking notice of the political climate and taking notice of how, globally, freedom of the press is being inhibited for various reasons. Is it likely that things will change overnight? No, but it is possible that more people will take a stand against propaganda, fake news, and government interference. Slowly, perhaps, we can expect a change.
Our work at Borasaek Vision is drastically different from the work that Ressa and Muratov have been doing in their home countries. We speak of art, not politics, and do not suffer from the interference of governments or other third parties; it is a blessing that not all journalists share. Having the freedom of the press is essential; as Berit Reiss-Andersen stated when announcing the awards, “Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda.” Having a free press is important for us as an organization and for everyone who needs information to make informed decisions.
The Washington Post’s motto is “Democracy dies in darkness.” If there is no free press in a country, how can its people get the information that they need to make their decisions? This year, two brave journalists received recognition for working under harsh conditions and refusing to give up even under pressure and threats. With continued effort, we can strive for better journalism, and possibly, for a better world — where we have a free press globally that then contributes to our freedom.
DISCLAIMER: We do not own any audio & visual content in this video except for the editing. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS. No copyright infringement intended.
Written By: Anna Moon
Edit By: Aury
Checked By: Mheer