Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to 2 Journalists, Highlighting Fight for Press Freedom

Category : Awards Published on: October 11 2021

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In an era of rising authoritarianism and swirling misinformation, Maria Ressa and Dmitri A. Muratov, who lead independent news outlets in the Philippines and Russia, respectively, were recognised for their efforts to hold leaders accountable.
The journalists, Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitri A. Muratov of Russia, were honoured for "their courageous fight for freedom of expression, which is a prerequisite for democracy and long-term peace."
Ms. Ressa, a Fulbright scholar who was named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2018 for her crusading work against disinformation, has been a constant thorn in the side of her country's authoritarian president, Rodrigo Duterte.
Mr. Muratov was a co-founder of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta in 1993 and has served as its editor in chief since 1995. The newspaper has continued to publish despite a constant barrage of harassment, threats, violence, and even murders.
This year marked only the third time in the prize's 120-year history that journalists were honored for their contributions to the cause of peace.

Important Facts

About Nobel Prize 2021: Full List of Winners

Nobel Prize category	Winner Name
Physics	Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann - for physical modelling of Earth's climate, quantifying variability and accurately forecasting global warming. Giorgio Parisi - for discovering the interaction of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems ranging from the atomic to the planetary scale.
Chemistry	Benjamin List and David MacMillan - for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis.
Physiology or Medicine	David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian- for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.
Literature	Abdulrazak Gurnah - for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.
Peace	Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov - for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.