Investigative reporting is getting harder and harder as autocratic governments crack down on media and government-friendly oligarchs use the courts to silence independent voices. The Philippine online news organization Rappler and its CEO and Executive Editor Maria Ressa are experiencing this firsthand, as Ressa was convicted last week on baseless “cyber libel” charges.
Maria Ressa speaking at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Hamburg, Germany, in September 2019. (Credit: Nick Jaussi)