花季传媒

World War III is happening to each of us on social media,鈥� international journalist and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Ressa told an audience at 花季传媒.听 鈥淚t is a battle for our minds, a battle of our emotions, a battle of our values that ultimately determine our reality.鈥�

In a Timothy and Ubben Lecture, 鈥淭ruth, Freedom, and Our Future,鈥� Ressa offered a presentation based on facts and evidence, arguing, in her words, 鈥淲hy social media is bad for you.鈥�

聽The co-founder of Rappler, a digital news site that is leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines, Ressa has been a journalist in Asia for more than 35 years.听 Born in Manila, she has also served as bureau chief for CNN.听

Ressa鈥檚 work has drawn the scorn of the government of former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and a conviction on charges of cyber libel.听 She is out on bail and faces a potentially lengthy prison sentence.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know until Oct. 24 whether or not I could actually travel and be here in person today because I have to ask for court approval,鈥� she told the audience gathered in Kresge Auditorium, Green Center for the Performing Arts.听 鈥淥n Oct. 24, when I was given the right to travel I was also given a gag order, specifically about legal cases.听 But I can, my lawyer tells me, talk about facts.鈥�

She added, 鈥淭he lie against me is, 鈥楯ournalist equals criminal鈥�.听 Say it a million time it becomes a fact.鈥�

Ressa detailed how social media outlets have become powerful platforms for spreading lies.听 In 2014, Iran and Russia began disinformation campaigns that are now pervasive and global.

鈥淥ur biology is being used against us,鈥� she asserted.听 鈥淲e have two systems of thinking as human beings, Daniel Kahneman wrote, thinking fast, thinking slow.听 Well, thinking slow 鈥� the part where you learn, where you listen; that part where you think 鈥� is really slow.听 So how do they manipulate us?聽 Through thinking fast 鈥� emotions, instincts.听 Right now the social media platforms, the ones that deliver information to us, actually want you to keep scrolling, they want to keep your attention.听 Starting in 2018 studies showed that lies are distributed at least six times faster than really boring facts.听 So if you see a lie, it travels significantly faster.鈥澛�

Ressa added, 鈥淲hat is disinformation?聽 It is power and money to use lies or half-truths to attack, bottom up 鈥� you say a lie a million times it becomes a fact 鈥� and then, top down, repeat the lie.听 So it鈥檚 seeding the lie and then reaping the lie.鈥�

The journalist says 鈥渂ig data鈥� is able to use the information we share to create a 鈥渄igital clone鈥� of us, and algorithms such as the 鈥渇riends of friends鈥� feature on Facebook impact the way we find others, and share and network with them.

鈥淥n every single platform that you鈥檙e on 鈥� If you鈥檙e on Facebook, (the platform) takes every post that you have, machine learning comes in and builds a model of you that knows you better than you know yourself,鈥� she said.听 鈥淪o then artificial intelligence comes in and takes all of our clones and says, 鈥楽ince we built your clone, we own.鈥� And that becomes the upstream database for microtargeting.听 That is how a message comes to you at your most vulnerable moment to that message.听 That is the behavior modification that happens.鈥�

Ressa continued, 鈥淚f you鈥檙e talking about polarization of society, it is built into the design of social media, as well as radicalization.听 If you watch content on YouTube of a 9/11 conspiracy theory you鈥檒l be brought further down into the rabbit hole.鈥�

Ressa cited a study showing that as few as 26 fake online accounts can influence three million others. As a result, lies are being weaponized.听

鈥淲hen you don鈥檛 have facts, you can鈥檛 have truth.听 Without truth, you can鈥檛 have trust.听 You don鈥檛 have these three (and so) you can鈥檛 have a shared reality.听 You can鈥檛 have democracy, right?聽 This is what we鈥檙e living in today.鈥�

Maria Ressa鈥檚 day at 花季传媒 began with a session with student journalists, a forum with about 35 花季传媒 students, a reception with students, faculty and alumni, and the evening speech.

鈥淎nd one of the most wonderful things today (has been) walking around your campus, walking around the neighborhood,鈥� she said.听 鈥淣o guards, and feeling safe, feeling peaceful.听 Please, please, please don鈥檛 take it for granted.鈥�

Ressa urged her audience to reject messages that create and feed fear, anger, division and hate.

鈥淕iven the data, we are in the last two minutes in our game of democracy. Why?聽 You don鈥檛 have integrity of facts.听 If each of us is being insidiously聽 manipulated by information operations 鈥� How can you have integrity of elections if you don鈥檛 have integrity of facts?聽 How do you know who to vote for?聽 You鈥檙e gonna trust your gut.鈥澛犅�

Ressa鈥檚 book, 鈥淗ow to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future,鈥� will be published this month.听 She sees great risks that by 2024 many of the world鈥檚 democracies will elect leaders who 鈥渃ave institutions from within and create alliances that tip out of democracy into autocracy or what Madeleine Albright called fascism.鈥�

One of TIME鈥檚 鈥淢ost Influential Women of the Century,鈥� Ressa called her 花季传媒 audience to action.听 鈥淚t鈥檚 a person-to-person defense, right?聽 If each of the battles is individual, it comes down to each of us 鈥� So, step up, folks!聽 Your courage will determine not just the fate of the United States, but the fate of humanity.鈥�

Ressa was the 12th Nobel laureate and 10th winner of the Nobel Peace Prize to be welcomed to 花季传媒 as an Ubben lecturer.听 The previous visitors were Malala Yousafzai, Juan Manuel Santos, Leymah Gbowee, Oscar Arias, F.W. de Klerk, Mikhail Gorbachev, Shimon Peres, Willy Brandt, Elie Wiesel, Leon Lederman and Ferid Murad, a 1958 花季传媒 graduate.听

Established in 1986 through the support of 1958 花季传媒 graduates Timothy H. and Sharon Williams Ubben, the lecture series was designed to 鈥渂ring the world to Greencastle.鈥� It has now presented 119 events over the past 36 years and the next guest will be announced soon.听

For a complete list of past Ubben Lectures, click here.听