In 2014, a keen-eyed desk hand-corrected a typo in an article on the Philippine news website Rappler. Six years later, its CEO Maria Ressa was convicted of cyber libel, and the case hinged on that correction.
The website had, in 2012, published an article that linked a Filipino businessman to illegal activities. Ressa was charged under the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which came into effect months after the article was published; the prosecution, however, claimed that the fixing of the typo meant that the article was republished.
It was not the first time Ressa—now a Nobel Peace Prize winner—had felt the wrath of the Rodrigo Duterte government. Her counsel Amal Clooney had told her that, adding up all the charges against her, Ressa could be looking at around a century in jail.
Ressa, having headed the CNN bureaus in Indonesia and the Philippines, launched Rappler in 2012 alongside a handful of Filipino journalists.
She had earlier spent years covering the rise of terrorism in Southeast Asia, and wrote Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of Al-Qaeda’s Newest Center in 2003. She then headed the news division of the Filipino media company ABS-CBN, but left in 2010. In her next book, From Bin Laden to Facebook: 10 Days of Abduction, 10 Years of Terrorism (2013), she studied terrorism’s new battleground—the internet and social media. This was also the time she was brainstorming to launch Rappler, and her body of work became more and more entwined with Facebook and the lot.
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Ram temple not an issue in south
Much has been said this election season about the alleged north-south divide.
Haute and sweaty
In Mumbai, where I live and work, there is a severe heatwave going on. The highest temperature this month has been 40 degrees, sweltering and humid for the coastal city.
MOVE AWAY MARY!
In many parts of the world,unique names are becoming popular
CALL OF THE WILD
Tejas Thackeray, the younger son of former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, shares his passion for wildlife conservation and photography
CEPA and beyond
Bilateral trade between the UAE and India has grown almost 16 per cent year-on-year, touching $84.5 billion
Brash and raw
When I chanced upon Raj Narain, who humbled Indira Gandhi
Lone voice of dissent
“I am keen to invite Parakala [Prabhakar] to Mumbai… What do you think? Do you know him?” A friend asked. No, I don’t know the man. And no, it is not a good idea to invite him, unless you want to invite trouble, I replied.
Modi and the Muslim syndrome
I have long been intrigued by the prime minister’s desire to hug every passing sheikh and sultan and his contrasting contempt for the ordinary Indian Muslim.
Assam Rifles not trained to guard borders; need separate force for Manipur border
Imphal is blanketed in darkness. The sun has set a little too soon in the valley, but N. Biren Singh is yet to call it a day.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE SENTINELS
Manipur government wants the Assam Rifles replaced, but the Union home ministry is focused on upgrading infrastructure and connectivity before deciding who guards the state