Maria Ressa, a Filipino journalist and subject of Ramona S. Diaz’s documentary A Thousand Cuts, has been found guilty of cyber libel by a court in the Philippines.
Ressa, the CEO/Founder of the Philippine news site Rappler, has been very vocal about holding Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte accountable for the government’s much-criticized violent war on drugs. The court decided that Rappler is under no liability, according to the New York Times. Ressa and Rappler’s Reynaldo Santos were both sentenced to between six months and up to six years over the charges. Whether or not they will go to prison is unclear as the court may allow them to post bail.
Duterte’s administration has been at odds with the media in the Philippines since he took office in 2016. In May, the government shut down ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ leading broadcast network. Ramona S. Diaz’s A Thousand Cuts spotlights the key players in the escalating war between Duterte and the Philippines press. The documentary examines social media disinformation campaigns and the crackdown on the news media in the Philippines. Ressa has been one of Duterte’s main targets.
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