Maria Ressa, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist, has warned that big technology companies have become 'weapons of mass destruction to democracy', urging Australia to take a leading role in building a healthier information ecosystem. In an article for Guardian Australia, Ressa described the current era as an 'information armageddon', where facts are under assault and trust is eroding, making it impossible to govern effectively.
Ressa outlined three key principles she has repeated since 2016: without facts, there can be no truth; without truth, there can be no trust; and without trust, there is no shared reality. She argued that this breakdown prevents societies from solving existential problems like climate change and undermines journalism and democracy itself. She drew parallels between the rise of fascism in the 1930s and today's technology-enabled weaponisation of information at an unprecedented scale.
The journalist highlighted that online violence translates into real-world violence, citing examples from Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, and her native Philippines. She noted that the Philippines experiences an average of 20 typhoons annually, and every crisis is worsened by the systematic destruction of the ability to agree on basic facts. Ressa expressed concern that similar patterns are emerging in democracies worldwide, including Australia.
Ressa pointed to Australia's vulnerabilities: a lack of constitutional press freedom, hyperconcentration of media, and 82 national security laws enacted since 2001—more than any other country. Combined with defamation laws that favour plaintiffs, she warned of a 'perfect storm' for press freedom erosion. However, she praised Australia for having conversations that many democracies avoid, such as the 'Right to Know' campaign and calls for a media freedom act.
Ressa concluded that the greatest threat is not any individual leader but technology that amplifies authoritarian tactics, enabled by governments that have abdicated their responsibility. She urged Australia to lead in defending democratic values and building the information infrastructure humanity needs, noting that the ABC maintains relatively high public trust and that Australia has tools that many countries lack.
