Bob Garlick | 3 Narratives News | September 27, 2025
“Without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without trust, democracy dies.”
Those words from Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa rang out in a recent speech on the global risks of disinformation. Ressa, co-founder of the investigative outlet Rappler, has spent years under fire for exposing Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal “war on drugs” in the Philippines. Arrested, harassed, and hit with multiple court cases, she became a symbol of journalistic resistance, and was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for her work defending truth.
Now she warns that the same tactics she faced at home, with coordinated online harassment, weaponized law, and algorithm-driven outrage — are spreading across the globe.
Context
In her latest address, Ressa laid out what she calls the “dictator’s playbook”: flood the public square with lies, weaken independent institutions, centralize force, and codify repression through law. Social platforms, she argues, are not neutral actors but accelerants, designed to reward anger and division.
Her warning goes further: the patterns she saw in Manila are now visible in Washington and other capitals. She points to rhetoric around crime, immigration, and security as examples of how democracies can slide toward authoritarian norms if left unchecked.
But does the U.S. really mirror the Philippines under Duterte? Or is Ressa overstating the danger? That’s where perspectives diverge.
The Right-Leaning View: Valuable Lessons, But America’s Institutions Endure
From a conservative vantage point, Ressa’s testimony is powerful but not entirely transferable. Yes, disinformation is corrosive. Yes, tech platforms must be held to account. But the U.S. is not the Philippines.
Courts remain independent, legislatures function, and civil society is strong. Comparing Duterte’s authoritarian excesses to U.S. politics risks inflating America’s vulnerabilities and eroding confidence in its institutions.
For the right, the priority is balance: resist hysteria, avoid censorship creep, and encourage citizens to exercise critical thinking. The real battle is ensuring that reforms aimed at Big Tech don’t trample free speech.
The Left-Leaning View: A Dire Warning We Ignore at Our Peril
Progressives hear Ressa as confirmation of what they’ve argued for years: democracies are fragile, and disinformation is their Achilles’ heel.
When authoritarian rhetoric goes unchecked, when truth is replaced with propaganda, democratic norms collapse quickly. Ressa’s story is a reminder that today’s “edge cases” — smear campaigns against journalists, online mobs, algorithmic outrage — become tomorrow’s normalized politics.
From this perspective, America is not immune. The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the rise of militia rhetoric, and ongoing campaigns of digital manipulation show that guardrails can bend. The prescription: regulate platforms, protect journalists, and push back hard against authoritarian drift before it’s too late.
The Silent Story: Citizens and the Global South
What neither side emphasizes enough is the everyday role of citizens. Disinformation spreads because people share it. Outrage is rewarded because people click it. The ecosystem isn’t just built by platforms or politicians, it is sustained by ordinary choices.
Equally overlooked: much of the authoritarian digital playbook is tested first in the Global South. From the Philippines to Brazil to India, tactics of intimidation, troll armies, and “fake news” laws were honed before being exported to wealthier democracies. Yet coverage often treats these countries as footnotes instead of early warning systems.
The silent truth: prevention is cheaper than repair. Listening to voices like Ressa’s, from the places where democratic erosion happened first — may be the most important step for countries hoping to avoid the same fate.
Key Takeaways
- Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Rappler, warns that disinformation is eroding democracies worldwide.
- Her “dictator’s playbook” includes lies, weakened institutions, centralized force, and legal repression.
- Right-leaning voices stress U.S. resilience and caution against regulatory overreach.
- Left-leaning voices see urgent parallels between the Philippines and the U.S., pushing for regulation and press protections.
- The silent story: ordinary citizens and the Global South are at the heart of disinformation’s spread — and deserve more attention.
Questions This Article Answers
- Who is Maria Ressa and why is she warning about disinformation?
- What is the “dictator’s playbook” she describes?
- How do U.S. conservatives and progressives interpret her warnings differently?
- What role do citizens and the Global South play in disinformation’s rise?
- Why does this matter now, as democracies face increasing stress?
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