How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future

In How to Stand up to a Dictator, Ressa provides an alarming account of how social media, particularly Facebook, has profoundly impacted democratic processes in the Philippines. Ressa’s argument is that social media platforms, driven by profit-seeking algorithms and a lack of accountability, have become powerful tools for the spread of disinformation and the manipulation of public opinion, ultimately undermining the foundations of democracy.

One of the key ways social media affects democracy is through its unprecedented reach and influence in countries like the Philippines. In a conversation with Mark Zuckerberg, Ressa emphasized the platform’s dominance, telling Zuckerberg that he had “no idea how powerful Facebook is in the Philippines” and that “ninety-seven percent of Filipinos on the internet are on Facebook” (165). At the time, Ressa hoped that “Perhaps then he would better understand the problems we were beginning to see: how journalists were coming under attack and how the government had hired social media “influencers” to wage its propaganda war” (165). However, Zuckerberg and Facebook ignored her warnings, despite the fact that the overwhelming presence of social media in Filipino society made it a potent tool for shaping public opinion and political