Journalists From Philippines, Russia Given Nobel Peace Prize – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
The Nobel Peace Prize 2021 was awarded to journalists Maria Ressa from the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov from Russia on Friday.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited its struggle for freedom of expression, stressing that it was vital to promoting peace.
“Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chairman of the committee.
“Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it will be difficult to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament and a better world order in order to thrive in our time,” she said.
In 2012, Ressa co-founded Rappler, a news website that “drew critical attention to the controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign of the (President Rodrigo) Duterte regime,” the Nobel Committee said.
She and Rappler “have also documented how social media are used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse”.
In response to the news, Ressa told Norwegian broadcaster TV2 that “the government (of the Philippines) will obviously not be happy”.
“I’m a little shocked. It’s really emotional, ”she added. “But I’m excited on behalf of my team and I want to thank the Nobel Committee for recognizing what we’re going through.”
Muratov was one of the founders of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta in 1993.
“Nowaja Gazeta is the most independent newspaper in Russia today with an attitude that is fundamentally critical of power,” said the Nobel Committee.
“The newspaper’s fact-based journalism and professional integrity have made it an important source of information on reprehensible aspects of Russian society that are seldom mentioned by other media outlets,” she added.
The Nobel Committee found that since Novaya Gazeta launched, six of its journalists have been killed, including Anna Politkovskaya, who covered Russia’s bloody conflict in Chechnya.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov praised Muratov as a “talented and courageous” person.
“We can congratulate Dmitry Muratov – he consistently worked according to his ideals,” said Peskov in a conference call with reporters after the award ceremony.
Reiss-Andersen noted that in the past the Peace Prize went to journalists, including Ernesto Teodoro Moneta from Italy, who was quoted in 1907 “for his work in the press and at peace meetings”.
In 1935, Carl von Ossietzky was awarded the prize “for his ardent love of freedom of thought and expression” after he had revealed that Germany was secretly arming after the First World War.
Reiss-Andersen also pointed to the risks to freedom of expression in today’s world from the spread of fake news, noting that Ressa has criticized Facebook’s role in manipulating public debate. “Disseminating fake news and information that is propaganda and untrue is also a violation of freedom of expression, and all freedom of expression has its limits. That is also a very important factor in this debate, ”she said.
The prestigious award is accompanied by a gold medal and 10 million Swedish crowns (over 1.14 million US dollars). The prize money comes from a legacy of the creator of the prize, the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.
On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the Physiology or Medicine Prize to the Americans David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries of how the human body perceives temperature and touch.
The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded Tuesday to three scientists whose work has found order in seeming disorder and helped explain and predict complex natural forces, including expanding our understanding of climate change.
Benjamin List and David WC MacMillan were named Nobel Laureates in Chemistry on Wednesday for finding an easier, greener way to make molecules that can be used to make compounds, including drugs and pesticides.
The Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded on Thursday to the UK-based Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah, who was recognized for his “uncompromising and compassionate understanding of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee”.
On Monday, the prize for outstanding achievements in the field of economics is due.
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Frank Jordans in Berlin, Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Vladimir Isachenkov in Russia contributed to this report.
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Read more stories of past and present Nobel Prize winners from The Associated Press at https://www.apnews.com/NobelPrizes
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