Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa strongly calls for the rebuilding of truth and trust. This is a global urgency. She underlined that  “without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without these three, we have no shared reality.”

She was speaking in front of around 10,000 journalists, editors, and communications professionals from 138 countries who gathered in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on Saturday, January 25, 2025 to mark the Jubilee of the World of Communications.

One of the platforms spotlighted by Maria Ressa was social media. She stated that the design of social media platforms is purposefully created to amplify divisions and exploit emotions for profit.

“It monetizes our outrage and hate; amplifies our divisions; and systematically erodes our capacity for nuanced thinking, our capacity for empathy,” the co-founder and CEO of Rappler explained.

Referring to the research, she pointed out that lies spread six times faster than the truth on social media. Therefore, it is very important to build collaboration and re-establish public trust.

“build and strengthen trust now to close the fracture lines of society that information operations will try to pound open, pitting us against each other.”

She therefore invited all participants to commit themselves to the following points:  Collaborate, Speak Truth with Moral Clarity, Protect the Most Vulnerable, and Recognize Your Power.

Collaboration is an essential element in building and strengthening trust, ensuring we are not set against one another. Communicating truth with moral clarity invites us to never remain silent when confronted with injustices. We need to engage and to raise our prophetic voices.

Furthermore, Ressa, who devotes 39 years of her life to journalism, strongly supported the protection of journalists, human rights advocates, and marginalized communities. Therefore, it is required to build a strong network.

“Your networks can be powerful shields for marginalized communities.”

The fourth point is the importance of recognizing our own strengths. She argued that building peace is not just for heroes. It is our common responsibility to refuse lies. She affirmed all the communicators telling them that everyone is strong.

“You are powerful and can be part of this tidal wave of change for the good. And that is powered by love.”

Ressa also called on all the audience to continue to hope and be pilgrims of hope, even in the worst of situations.

“Hope is not passive; it’s active, relentless, and strategic,” told Ressa , one of the most famous journalists in the Philippines.

Written by Sr. Evifania Sinaga and Sr. Angela Siallagan