Nobel laureate journalist Maria Ressa has commented that “Tech bros” such as Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are “the largest dictators”.
In October 2021, Maria Ressa was one of two journalists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”
The American-Filipina journalist has spent a number of years fighting charges filed during then-president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
Ressa said Duterte “is a far smaller dictator compared to Mark Zuckerberg, and now let me throw in Elon Musk,” reports The Guardian.
Speaking at the Hay literary festival in Powys, Ressa said Zuckerberg and Musk have “proven that we all, regardless of culture, language, or geography, have far more in common than we have differences because we’re all being manipulated the same way”.
Social media platforms have the ability to “change the way we feel”, she said, which in turn “changes the way we see the world and changes the way we act”.
Ressa said conversations about identity politics online have caused similar instances of polarisation across the world. These debates encourage “the kinds of questions that we think are our free will” – but they are not, Ressa said.
