In this extract from her new book, the Nobel peace laureate reflects on technology’s ‘power to infect us with a virus of lies’. Plus, Amal Clooney pays tribute
• Maria Ressa: ‘In 2024, democracy could fall off a cliff’
Let me tell you why the rest of the world needs to pay attention to what happens in the Philippines: 2021 was the sixth year in a row that Filipinos – out of all global citizens – spent the most time on the internet and on social media. Despite slow internet speeds, Filipinos uploaded and downloaded the largest number of videos on YouTube in 2013. Four years later, 97% of our country’s citizens were on Facebook. When I told that statistic to Mark Zuckerberg in 2017, he was quiet for a beat. “Wait, Maria,” he finally responded, looking directly at me, “where are the other three percent?”
At the time, I laughed at his glib quip. I’m not laughing anymore.
