Maria Ressa, co-founder, president and CEO of Rappler, the top digital news site leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines, discusses the challenges to independent journalists, especially women, in southeast Asia, the Middle East and worldwide; the impact of hi tech social media companies in stifling free media; her experiences covering Abu Sayyaf, and how terrorist organizations exploited social media platforms to promote violence; and more. Ressa, author of the forthcoming Standing up to a Dictator and other books, won the 2021 Noble Peace Prize for her “freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country.”