The Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom award of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), has been awarded to Maria Ressa, co-founder, CEO and executive editor of the online news site Rappler.
The award, given in Cascais, Portugal, during the opening ceremony of the 70th World News Media Congress and 25th World Editors Forum, recognized Ressa’s unwavering commitment to the values of a free press, as well as her determination to continue exposing stories of vital importance for democracy in the Philippines amidst intense pressure from the government and its supporters, according to WAN-IFRA.
“You don’t really know who you are until you’re forced to fight to defend it,” Ressa said in her acceptance speech, delivered in front of over 700 publishers, CEOs and editors-in-chief from the global news industry. “We at Rappler decided that when we look back at this moment a decade from now, we will have done everything we could: we did not duck, we did not hide.”
Since the 2016 election of President Rodrigo Duterte, Rappler has fallen victim to an online campaign by supporters of the controversial head of state that seeks to discredit the media organization, according to WAN-IFRA. Ressa has also been the target of a hate campaign designed to undermine her credibility and the legitimacy of Rappler’s reporting, WAN-IFRA says.
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