Table of Contents
- Maria Ressa: ‘We’re Losing the Battle for Truth’
- The ‘Mother of All Battles’: Information Integrity
- How Disinformation Erodes Democracy
- Calling Out Big Tech—and Ourselves
- Can Truth Still Win?
- Sources
Maria Ressa: ‘We’re Losing the Battle for Truth’
At the 2025 Athens Democracy Forum, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa delivered a sobering message that cut through the noise: “If we lose the battle for truth, we lose democracy.”
Speaking passionately before a global audience of policymakers, journalists, and civil society leaders, Ressa warned that the erosion of shared facts—fueled by algorithm-driven disinformation—has created a world where reality itself is up for debate.
“This isn’t just about fake news,” she said. “It’s about the systematic weaponization of information to paralyze societies and delegitimize institutions.”
The ‘Mother of All Battles’: Information Integrity
Ressa framed the current moment as nothing less than “the mother of all battles”—a phrase she borrowed from Saddam Hussein but repurposed with chilling relevance. The real war, she argued, isn’t fought with tanks or troops, but in the digital public square.
At the heart of this conflict is information integrity—the idea that facts should be verifiable, sources transparent, and discourse grounded in reality. Yet today’s social media ecosystems, she noted, are engineered to reward outrage, not accuracy.
How Disinformation Erodes Democracy
Ressa drew from her own experience in the Philippines, where coordinated online harassment campaigns and viral falsehoods were used to silence critics and manipulate elections. “They called me a terrorist, a drug dealer, a traitor—all because I reported the truth,” she recalled.
She emphasized that this playbook is no longer isolated. From Brazil to India to the United States, similar tactics are being deployed to polarize voters, undermine trust in media, and create parallel realities where conspiracy theories thrive.
“When people can’t agree on basic facts,” she warned, “democracy becomes impossible.”
Calling Out Big Tech—and Ourselves
While Ressa placed significant blame on tech giants—whose engagement-driven algorithms amplify lies faster than truth—she also challenged individuals to take responsibility.
“We’ve outsourced our thinking to machines,” she said. “Every time we share without verifying, we become part of the problem.”
She called for urgent reforms: algorithmic transparency, stronger regulation of digital platforms, and media literacy education starting in elementary school. “Democracy isn’t a spectator sport,” she reminded the audience. “It requires active, informed citizens.”
Can Truth Still Win?
Despite the grim outlook, Ressa refused to surrender to despair. “Truth is resilient,” she insisted. “It may be slow, but it’s the only foundation we have.”
She pointed to grassroots movements, independent journalism, and youth-led digital activism as signs of hope. “The fight for democracy is the fight for truth—and that fight is worth every ounce of our courage.”
As the forum concluded, her words lingered like a call to arms—not with weapons, but with facts, integrity, and unwavering moral clarity.
