Nobel Peace Prize-winning Filipina journalist and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa delivered a powerful speech to Harvard University’s Class of 2024 on Thursday, May 23, during the university’s 373rd commencement ceremonies. Ressa, chosen as the principal speaker for her unwavering dedication to truth, also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard.
In her address, Ressa issued a stark warning about the state of global democracy. “I feel like I’ve been shouting since 2016 when I watched our institutions crumble quickly in the Philippines. And I will say it now. The fascists are coming,” she said.
Ressa highlighted the decline of the Global Democracy Index, noting that “71% of the world lives under autocratic rule. We are electing illiberal leaders democratically and once in power, these autocrats not only crush institutions in their countries, but they form alliances and create Kleptocracy, Inc. This is your challenge, it is our challenge.”
She also criticized the role of social media in undermining democracy by “spreading lies faster than facts while amplifying fear and anger, fueling hatred by design, for profit.” Ressa called on the U.S. to revoke Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects tech service providers from being held accountable for illegal content posted online by users.
In her closing remarks, Ressa challenged the graduates to use their education to combat these threats. “Your Harvard education gives you the tools. Make it a world that is safe from fascists and tyrants…This is about what we can do together, to find what binds us together. Our world on fire, needs you! So. Class of 2024. Welcome to the battlefield. Join us.”
Ressa, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov in 2021, emphasized the urgent need for collective action to protect democratic values and institutions.
