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A review by clairealex
How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
This is the story of Maria Ressa's entry into journalism and her founding of Rappler followed by persecution by the Duterte government and the ensuing struggle. As you might imagine, the struggle makes for more intense reading than the building of a career.
Ressa was ahead of her time in welcoming and understanding technology in information. At first Rappler worked with Facebook, researching and providing data and suggestions for avoiding disinformation. However, Facebook didn't act on the findings. And eventually Rappler became victim of the various networks and astroturf attacks Ressa's team had revealed. As Rappler's advertisers left, Ressa and her team redesigned Rappler so that it thrived. She faced 8 or 9 criminal charges and for a time had to get permission from 36 different courts to travel outside of the country. In a recent interview with Democracy Now (https://www.democracynow.org/2025/4/24/trump_war_on_press) she says all except two have been won.
Had I read the book earlier, I doubt I would have anticipated the many parallels between journalism in the Philippines then and in the US now. But they are there, and they are chilling.
Ressa was ahead of her time in welcoming and understanding technology in information. At first Rappler worked with Facebook, researching and providing data and suggestions for avoiding disinformation. However, Facebook didn't act on the findings. And eventually Rappler became victim of the various networks and astroturf attacks Ressa's team had revealed. As Rappler's advertisers left, Ressa and her team redesigned Rappler so that it thrived. She faced 8 or 9 criminal charges and for a time had to get permission from 36 different courts to travel outside of the country. In a recent interview with Democracy Now (https://www.democracynow.org/2025/4/24/trump_war_on_press) she says all except two have been won.
Had I read the book earlier, I doubt I would have anticipated the many parallels between journalism in the Philippines then and in the US now. But they are there, and they are chilling.