How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future

This term describes the imbalance of power in online conflicts, where powerful entities, such as governments or corporations, use subtle and often deceptive tactics typically associated with smaller, less powerful groups to manipulate public opinion and disseminate disinformation.

Citizen journalism refers to the practice of ordinary citizens actively participating in the gathering, reporting, and dissemination of news and information. Ressa highlights the importance of citizen journalism in exposing truth, holding those in power accountable, and strengthening democracy.

This Filipino term means doing the right thing when wielding power. It encompasses the values of propriety, decency, and ethical behavior, particularly among those in positions of authority.

The deliberate spread of false or misleading information, often through social media platforms and other digital channels. Ressa highlights how disinformation has been used by authoritarian governments and other malicious actors to manipulate public opinion, sow division, and undermine democratic institutions.

This term refers to the erratic and potentially dangerous ways in which a group or system behaves, which cannot be predicted based on the actions of individuals.

In the book, groupthink is mentioned in the context of studying radicalization and how people change when they join groups. Ressa refers to the experiments of psychologist Solomon Asch, which demonstrated the power of peer pressure and how being part of a group can influence individuals to conform to the group’s opinions, even when they may be incorrect.

In her Nobel Peace Prize lecture, Maria Ressa used the term “invisible atom bomb” as a metaphor to describe the devastating impact of social media and technology on the information ecosystem.

The systematic spread of false or misleading information through interconnected networks of individuals, groups, and platforms. In the book, this includes the collaboration between politicians, advertising and PR strategists, and fake account operators to manipulate public opinion and undermine trust in traditional media and democratic institutions.

Ressa challenges the notion of the “objective journalist,” arguing that while the principles of journalism aim to build objectivity into the reporting process, there is no such thing as a truly objective journalist. Instead, she emphasizes the importance of good journalism, which relies on evidence, facts, and the courage to report the truth, even if it leads to trouble with those in power.

The name of a peaceful popular uprising that took place in the Philippines in 1986. This mass demonstration, which involved hundreds of thousands of Filipinos, was a response to the snap election called by President Ferdinand Marcos and the subsequent contestation of the results by opposition leader Corazon Aquino.

The practice of journalists and media organizations of limiting or altering their reporting to avoid offending those in power or to protect themselves from retribution.

Coined by Shoshana Zuboff, this term refers to an economic system in which human data and behavior are treated as commodities to be collected, analyzed, and sold for profit. Ressa associates this concept with Facebook’s business model, which relies on gathering vast amounts of user data to target advertising and shape user behavior, often at the expense of privacy and individual autonomy.