Researched by: Sara Varghese and Samreen Faridi

First, some background

A rare honour: While at least six journalists have received the peace prize before, only two of them have been honoured specifically for their journalism: Italian journalist Ernesto Teodoro Moneta in 1907 and Carl von Ossietzky in 1935—for his fierce opposition to Nazism, and exposés on German militarisation. FYI, Ossietzky was being held in a concentration camp when the award was announced. Also this: Ressa is only the 18th woman to win the Peace Prize in its 120-year history.

Point to note: Since then, journalists have been top contenders but never made the cut. In 2020, for example, the Committee to Protect Journalists was at the top of the list, but ultimately lost out to the World Food Programme. 

But why journalists?

Ressa and Muratov were chosen from a pool of 329 candidates—the largest ever for the prize—and beat out many. The Nobel committee noted that a free press is a necessary condition of peace—praising “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” But the timing is hardly a coincidence. 

A global siege: In 2020, 21 reporters were killed around the world in retaliation for their work—and 274 were thrown in jail. The number of deaths was around double from the year before. The state of press freedom is “very bad,” “bad” or “problematic” in 73% of the 180 countries listed on the World Press Freedom Index—and is “favourable” in only 7% of them. Ressa and Muratov both work in countries that rank woefully low—The Philippines is #138 and Russia is even lower at #150. FYI: India comes in at #142. Yes, we are even lower than the Philippines. 

Point to note: And it’s getting worse. According to the V-Dem Institute, “32 countries are declining substantially, compared to only 19 just three years ago” with respect to media freedom. 

A social media plague: Many view the decision to honour Ressa and Muratov as a pointed slap in the face for Facebook—which has been tied to the spread of misinformation, hate speech and violence in multiple countries. And Ressa especially has been a fierce critic long before any of us heard of ‘fake news’. The decision to honour her also underlines her critique:

“Facebook is now the world’s largest distributor of news and yet it has refused to be the gatekeeper, and when it does that, when you allow lies to actually get on the same playing field as facts, it taints the entire public sphere.”

Anecdote to note: In the Philippines, Facebook successfully rolled out the ‘Free Basics’ program—which offers free internet access to promote its platforms (an initiative rejected by India). As a result, most of the country is on Facebook—which was critical to the rise of a strongman like President Duterte. But when Ressa tried to flag the problem for Mark Zuckerberg, this happened:

“Ressa told Zuckerberg that 97% of Filipinos used Facebook, and she invited him to the Philippines to get a better understanding of the problems that result. Zuckerberg seemed to ignore the invitation, concentrating instead on how Facebook could increase its domination in the country. ‘What are the other 3 percent doing, Maria?’ he allegedly asked.” 

Ok, tell me about these journalists

Let’s start with Maria Ressa—who is better known and was the TIME magazine Person of the Year in 2018. 

• The 58-year-old was born in the Philippines but grew up in the United States—where she remained until she finished her degree at Princeton University. 
• She has been a journalist in Southeast Asia for over 30 years and was previously the CNN bureau chief in Manila and later in Jakarta.
• In 2012, she founded the online new site Rappler—which ironically began as a page on Facebook. The aim was to combine citizen and formal journalism to challenge Duterte’s human rights record.

Why her work matters: No leader has been more open about his contempt for the freedom of the press than Duterte. Soon after he took power, he said: 

“Just because you’re a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination if you’re a son of a bitch. Freedom of expression cannot help you if you have done something wrong.”

Rappler has been a so-called ‘son of a bitch’ from its very inception—exposing Duterte’s bloody war on drugs—which has resulted in over 12,000 deaths due to extrajudicial killings committed by police and police-linked “death squads.” In September, the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into possible crimes against humanity during the anti-drug campaign.

The consequences: have been swift. In the span of less than two years, Ressa was issued 10 arrest warrants and is fighting nine separate cases. The government has made multiple efforts to shut down Rappler—charging it with tax evasion and cybercrime. Ressa herself was convicted of online libel in 2020 under the dictatorial anti-cybercrime law. If found guilty, she faces six years in prison. Rappler, meanwhile, is still fighting seven court cases. FYI: 176 journalists have been killed in the Philippines since 1986.

Quote to note: In a tearful interview after she won, Ressa called the prize “a recognition of the difficulties, but also hopefully of how we’re going to win the battle for truth, the battle for facts: We hold the line.” Watch her below:

What about Muratov?

He is one of the best known editors in Russia—and an uncompromising adversary of Putin.

• The 59-year old’s career spans the arc of recent Russian history. He was first an editor at the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda run by young communists—who supported then President Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms.
• But in 1992, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Muratov left to found Novaya Gazeta, which means “new gazette.”
• The publication was so cash-strapped that former president Gorbachev donated $300,000 of his 1990 Nobel Peace Prize award money to help pay for computers and salaries.
• From the very beginning, the publication’s focus was hard-hitting investigative journalism. And soon it became known as Russia’s “bravest” newspaper.
• Muratov was initially its deputy press editor, and currently its editor in chief.

Why his work matters: Novaya Gazeta built its early reputation by fearlessly covering abuses of power under Putin—and paid a very high price for it. Its early focus was the human rights abuses committed during Russia’s military campaign to annex Chechnya. 

• Putin rose to power after the outbreak of the second Chechen war. And that’s when the publication suffered its first great loss: Yury Shchekochikhin, a reporter investigating corrupt business deals—who died in 2003 of poisoning. 
• Chechen war correspondent Anna Politkovskaya was subjected to threats, detention and an apparent poisoning. She was finally shot outside her apartment on October 7, 2006—which is also Putin’s birthday. 
• Stanislav Markelov was also reporting on Chechen issues when he was killed by an unknown gunman in 2009.
• During the same year, his colleague Natalia Estemirova—who exposed the torture, enforced disappearances and murders of civilians in Chechnya—was kidnapped outside her apartment in Grozny and shot dead.
• Also in 2009: Anastasia Baburina was shot after a news conference with a lawyer representing the family of a Chechen girl raped and murdered by a Russian military officer.
• In 2017, Novaya Gazeta reported on gay men being detained, tortured and killed in an anti-homosexual purge in Chechnya. The reporter who broke that story, Elena Milashina, had to move abroad due to death threats.

Point to note: Muratov dedicated his win to his paper and the memory of the six journalists who were killed in the line of journalistic duty. The Kremlin spokesperson said: “It’s a high appraisal and we congratulate him … He persistently works in accordance with his own ideals, he is devoted to them, he is talented, he is brave.”

A safer choice? Many thought the peace prize this year would go to Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny—who was first poisoned by security agents, and then sent to prison on trumped up charges (explained here). And many in Russia think the decision to honour Muratov was a dodge to avoid angering Putin:

“The decision to reward Muratov, not Navalny, is an attempt to keep the maximum distance from the current political process. We, they say, do not interfere in politics, we only support the principle of freedom of speech.”

Muratov himself said: “If I had been on the Nobel Peace Prize committee, I would have voted for the person whom the bookmakers bet on…I mean Aleksei Navalny.”

Reading list

TIME magazine has a good overview of this year’s peace prize, and why it matters. Washington Post has an excellent profile of Muratov, and a must-read op-ed on why Ressa’s award is a big blow to Facebook. New York Times looks at the future of Rappler. Also in the New York Times: Why not everyone in Russia is overjoyed by Muratov’s award. You can also check the latest Reporters without Borders report on press freedom.