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How to Stand Up to a Dictator

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( 5,491 ratings, 963 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa is a compelling exploration of the author's journey as a journalist facing authoritarian regimes and battling misinformation. It delves into her experiences in the Philippines, highlighting the challenges of defending a free press against the encroaching power of dictatorship and the influence of social media on contemporary politics. The book offers an inspiring testament to courage and resilience in the face of overwhelming odds.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this compelling narrative if you're intrigued by the intersection of journalism, technology, and politics. With insightful analysis and personal experiences, the author explores the challenges of defending democracy and press freedom in the modern age. It's an inspiring read for those passionate about social justice and active civic engagement.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Inspirational 2021 Nobel Peace Prize WINNER Maria Ressa's personal frontline manifesto in the war against authoritarianism's sinister uses of big tech.

BBC RADIO 4 START OF THE WEEK and GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 2021

What will you sacrifice for the truth?

Maria Ressa has spent decades speaking truth to power. But her work tracking disinformation networks seeded by her own government, spreading lies to its own citizens laced with anger and hate, has landed her in trouble with the most powerful man in the country - President Duterte.

Now, hounded by the state, she has multiple arrest warrants against her name, and a potential 100+ years behind bars to prepare for - while she stands trial for speaking the truth.

How to Stand Up to a Dictator is the story of how democracy dies by a thousand cuts, and how an invisible atom bomb has exploded online that is killing our freedoms. It maps a network of disinformation - a heinous web of cause and effect - that has netted the globe: from Duterte's drug wars, to America's Capitol Hill, to Britain's Brexit, to Russian and Chinese cyber-warfare, to Facebook and Silicon Valley, to our own clicks and our own votes.

Told from the frontline of the digital war, this is Maria Ressa's urgent cry for us to wake up and hold the line, before it is too late.

Praise for Maria Ressa:

Winner of the UNESCO Press Freedom Award 2021

'A personal hero of mine ... she's an important warning for the rest of us'
Hillary Clinton

'Maria Ressa is 5ft 2in, but she stands taller than most in her pursuit of the truth'
Amal Clooney

'Maria is a key voice ... she is so incredible in so many ways'
Carole Cadwalladr

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780753559208

Publisher: Ebury Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 November 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: W H Allen

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 26.0mm

Width: 154.0mm

Height: 235.0mm

Weight: 388g

Pages: 320

About the Author

Maria Ressa is CEO, co-founder and President of Rappler, the Philippines's top digital news site. She is the current Nobel Laureate and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2021, the first Filipino in history to do so. She grew up in America and studied at Princeton University before working as a journalist in Asia for over 36 years. Maria has endured multiple arrests by the Duterte government, which is the subject of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival documentary, A THOUSAND CUTS. Ressa won the UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize 2021 and was TIME Person of the Year in 2018, and was named by TIME as one of the most inspiring and influential women of the century. She has also featured in Prospect's Top 50 Thinkers, Bloomberg 50, and the BBC's Top 100 Women. She has received countless awards for her work, including the Golden Pen of Freedom Award from the World Association of News Publishers. Before founding Rappler, Maria investigated terrorism in Southeast Asia, opening and running CNN's Manila Bureau and Jakarta Bureaus, before heading the largest news group in the Philippines. She wrote Seeds of Terror in 2003 and From Bin Laden to Facebook in 2012.

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  • How to Stand Up to a Dictator
    How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa is a gripping account of one woman’s indomitable pursuit of truth in the face of overwhelming adversity. This powerful narrative is both a personal memoir and a broader manifesto against the encroaching threats to democracy and freedom posed by modern authoritarianism and disinformation. As Ressa, a seasoned journalist and the...
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    "In this impassioned warning and inspirational call to arms, Ressa identifies and illuminates her core values of empathy, honesty, and faith in humanity to illustrate how a strong commitment to such foundational beliefs can provide the key to democracy's survival. . . . Searing and electrifying." Booklist (starred review) From the recipient of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize comes a...
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