Rappler co-founder and veteran journalist Maria Ressa has won the Nobel Peace Prize for her “courageous fight” to defend freedom of expression in the Philippines.
Ressa shared the award with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov.
The committee called the Ressa and Muratov “representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal”.
The pair were chosen our of 329 candidate. The announcement of the winners was made at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo. The duo will receive 10m Swedish krona (US$1.1m).
Ressa was commended for using freedom of expression to “expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines”.
In a live broadcast by Rappler, Ressa said she was “in shock”.
The committee said Mr Muratov, who co-founded the independent newspaper Novaja Gazeta and had been its editor-in-chief for 24 years, had for decades defended freedom of speech in Russia under increasingly challenging conditions.
Mr Muratov has not yet publicly reacted, but he was congratulated by the Kremlin.
