Big Ideas presented by Scotia Wealth Management: Hear from notable subjects and experts on issues featured in the film.
A live webinar took place on Saturday, May 30. The recorded webinar is available to stream with the film and on YouTube.
About the webinar
Internationally acclaimed journalist, 2018 Time Person of the Year, co-founder, executive editor and CEO of Rappler Maria Ressa, and A Thousand Cuts director Ramona Diaz discuss the role of journalists in democratic society, lessons we can learn about the weaponization of social media, political harassment and the importance of a free press to counter disinformation and "fake news." Hosted by Ana Serrano, Co-Director DemocracyXChange and in-coming President and Vice Chancellor OCAD University.
About the film
In reporting on Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s extrajudicial war on drugs, Rappler news site co-founder Maria Ressa has been sued by the government repeatedly, arrested twice and, at one point, received 90 hate messages per hour threatening rape, murder and bombing of her office. Duterte has personally squared off with Ressa as she and her Rappler team continue to cover the thousands of killings under his term thus far. Named Person of the Year in 2018 by Time magazine in its “The Guardians” tribute to journalists, Ressa has been just as tenacious in bringing awareness of the full-scale weaponization of social media to the world’s attention. Tracing fake news campaigns back to a handful of bogus social media accounts, deflecting Duterte boosters like pop-star-turned-pundit Mocha Uson and testifying in Amal Clooney’s UN General Assembly investigation of free press violations, Ressa is at real risk of becoming collateral damage in the war against democracy itself. Myrocia Watamaniuk
Co-presesnted with DemocracyXChange and Journalists for Human Rights
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