#HoldTheLine

Defend Maria Ressa and independent media in the Philippines

Internationally celebrated Filipino-American journalist Maria Ressa is facing extreme threats in the Philippines as state-orchestrated attacks escalate against her and Rappler, the news organization she founded. This follows her conviction on a criminal cyber libel charge and the shuttering of the country’s largest broadcaster, ABS-CBN, as part of the Duterte government’s wider campaign to stifle independent media. Throughout the Philippines, critical journalists are being sent a chilling message: you are only safe in silence. Ressa knows this better than anyone. Join us and help her #HoldTheLine.   

Maria Ressa, executive editor of news website Rappler, speaks to the media after posting bail in a cyber-libel case at a court in Manila City, Philippines, on February 14, 2019. Philippine authorities issued arrest warrants for Ressa and several other Rappler executives on March 28 in a separate case. (Reuters/Eloisa Lopez)
Maria Ressa, executive editor of news website Rappler, speaks to the media after posting bail in a cyber-libel case at a court in Manila City, Philippines, on February 14, 2019. Philippine authorities issued arrest warrants for Ressa and several other Rappler executives on March 28 in a separate case. (Reuters/Eloisa Lopez)

Watch this conversation between Maria Ressa and her lawyer, Amal Clooney.

Take action now

Sign the petition calling for the government to drop all legal action against Ressa, Santos, and Rappler, and end pressure on independent media in the Philippines

Learn more about Maria Ressa, Rappler, and the threats faced by independent media in the Philippines [CPJ, ICFJ, RSF]

Latest actions to #HoldTheLine:

  • Coalition statement condemns third criminal cyber libel charge against Maria Ressa and Rappler

  • Coalition statement condemns new legal threats to Maria Ressa and calls for a second, trumped-up criminal cyber libel charge to be dropped
  • Read this explainer from ICFJ’s website IJNet unpacking the legal threats Mariais facing   

WATCH: Maria Ressa accepts CPJ’s 2018 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award

Maria Ressa receives CPJ’s Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award on November 20, 2018. Read more about Maria Ressa.

A coalition led by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) stands with Maria Ressa to #HoldTheLine and defend independent journalism in the Philippines.

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#HoldTheLine Coalition Members

  • African Media Initiative
  • Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom
  • amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism
  • Amnesty International
  • ARTICLE 19
  • Association for Independent Broadcasting (AIB)
  • Association of Caribbean Media Workers
  • Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines UK
  • Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM)
  • Centre for Law and Democracy
  • Chicas Poderosas
  • CineDiaz
  • CIVICUS
  • CodaStory
  • College Editors Guild of the Philippines
  • Committee to Protect Journalists
  • Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE)
  • Danlambao Vietnam
  • Dart Asia Pacific
  • Dart Center
  • Digital Context Next
  • Doc Society
  • English PEN
  • Ethical Journalism Network
  • European Journalism Centre
  • First Look Media
  • Forbidden Stories
  • Free Press Unlimited
  • Freedom Talk
  • Global Alliance on Media and Gender (GAMAG)
  • Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)
  • Global Voices
  • Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University
  • IFEX
  • IFJ Asia Pacific
  • Index on Censorship
  • Institute for Regional Media and Information (IRMI)
  • International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT)
  • International Center for Journalists
  • International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)
  • International Media Support (IMS)
  • International News Safety Institute (INSI)
  • International Press Institute (IPI)
  • International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF)
  • James W. Foley Legacy Foundation
  • Judith Neilson Institute 
  • Justice for Journalists Foundation
  • Luminate
  • Media Association for Peace (MAP)
  • Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF)
  • Namibia Media Trust (NMT)
  • National Press Club/National Press Club Journalism Institute
  • National Press Foundation
  • National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP)
  • Netzwerk Recherche
  • One World Media
  • Open Democracy Project
  • Pacific Media Centre
  • Pakistan Press Foundation
  • Panos Institute Southern Africa
  • PEN America
  • PEN International
  • Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ)
  • Press Freedom Defense Fund
  • Project Syndicate
  • Public Media Alliance
  • Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
  • Rappler
  • Reporters Without Borders
  • Rory Peck Trust
  • Rural Media Network Pakistan
  • Society of Editors
  • Somali Media Women Association
  • South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF)
  • Storyhunter
  • Tanzania Media Practitioners Association
  • The Association for Progressive Communications
  • The Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma
  • The Coalition for Women in Journalism
  • The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation
  • The Signals Network
  • UN Watch
  • Union of Journalists in Finland 
  • WAN-IFRA
  • World Editors Forum

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