It marked the end of four years of trial over a case that was part of a string of legal attacks mounted by the Duterte administration against Rappler.

What does this acquittal mean for Rappler and its other cases? What’s the outlook for Rappler and journalism for the rest of the year? What are the continuing threats to journalists and newsrooms all over the world? Where lies hope?

We’d like to have a meaningful conversation with Rappler+ members on these issues in an online chat on Wednesday, February 8, at 8 pm, Manila time. It will be a free-flowing discussion with Rappler CEO Maria A. Ressa and Executive Editor Glenda M. Gloria.

Again, from all of us at Rappler, thank you for holding the line with us. – Rappler.com 

How do black hat SEO operators sabotage news organizations like Rappler? What happens when a website gets under attack using this tactic? What does it mean to regular readers and news consumers?

In our two-part investigative story on this form of cyberattack, we’ve written about where we have traced the network from and the lucrative but dubious business behind it.

To further unpack this, we are inviting Rappler+ members to “Rappler+ briefing: The dubious business of black hat SEO marketing” with Rappler’s Gemma Mendoza at 5:30 pm Manila time, on Thursday, October 13.

Sign up for Rappler+ at rplr.co/Plus to join the discussion, receive exclusive content, and access our online events. – Rappler.com

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After the interview, Rappler+ members were able to ask her questions directly. Members asked about the role of Filipinos abroad, what the minority bloc would look like in the Senate, mental health, and what she learned from her campaign. You can watch the full recording of the private Q&A below:

Password: m1noritybl0c

The discussion during this online event was about the challenges that journalists and artists face when telling stories about the lives lost during Duterte’s drug war.

How do we continue telling these difficult and painful stories in a climate of hate speech, disinformation, and propaganda? And more importantly, to ensure we remember and continue to remember these stories.

Watch the interview here:

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Watch the full recording of the private Q&A that followed here:

Password: Art@Journal1sm

In the interview, Haugen explains how she decided to come out as a whistleblower against a large and powerful company like Facebook. After joining the company, she quickly learned about the real-world consequences of Facebook outside the United States which is what drove her to start taking action as an individual.

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Maria Ressa talks to Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen

After Maria Ressa’s interview, the conversation continued with members asking about how to push for transparency around Facebook algorithms and groups. Watch the full video below:

Password: WhistleblowerOnRappler+

As an artist and activist, Mae Paner conveys them through theatre and film as we see in her piece “Tao Po” that features four character monologues. As a photojournalist, Raffy Lerma exposes them through the powerful images that he captures during his coverage. And as a multimedia reporter for Rappler, Rambo Talabong tells these stories through the news articles he writes and the multimedia content he produces.

In the film “Tao Po,” we hear Raffy Lerma say, “We’ve come to accept these killings as normal. That’s what I can’t take… I can’t accept that our society has come to this.” Journalists themselves have been caught in the crossfire of Duterte’s bloody drug war as they try and cover the scale and magnitude of the killings that started in 2016. Though killings have always been present in the country, Raffy Lerma, who has covered the night shift since 2007, points out how unusual it was to have seen so many killings in one night compared to how it was previously.

In her CCP talkback, Mae Paner recounts that she decided to produce this show after hearing daily reports of killings at the start of the drug war. She felt compelled to humanize these stories despite the difficulty of the subject matter, production costs, professional risks and personal attacks. As an artist, she brought these stories to life for the purpose of starting conversations with people who remain supporters of President Duterte.

In an interview with the International Documentary Association, Rappler’s Rambo Talabong says of journalism and documentary filmmaking: “I really appreciate the documentary process—how much importance is given to telling stories in a slow burn. At Rappler we break stories every day—five stories, seven stories, 500 words, we send them out, one after the other. While our process may be different, we are essentially doing the same thing as documentary. We’re here to portray the truth.”

The challenge continues for journalists and artists alike: how do we continue telling these difficult and painful stories in a climate of hate speech, disinformation, and propaganda? And more importantly, to ensure we remember and continue to remember these stories.

Bookmark this page to catch the Rappler+ Live Chat on March 16 (Wednesday), 12pm. Rappler+ members are invited to join the private Q&A that will follow by registering through this link. – Rappler.com

In the next episode of #HoldtheLine, Maria Ressa will talk to Frances Haugen and discuss what it was like to stand up against a multi-billion dollar company like Facebook. In her Nobel Peace Prize speech, Ressa herself brought to light the urgent need for big tech companies to act now and for them to be held accountable.

In the face of rabid online disinformation and propaganda that result to real world violence, what steps can be done in order to fix the broken information ecosystem that persists? Learn from this interview happening on Friday, February 25, 9 pm, Manila time.

The show #HoldtheLine, hosted by Ressa, was launched in 2021 to hear from different personalities and learn about their values, why they fight for it, and where they draw and hold the line when it comes to the challenges they are faced with.

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Rappler+ members will be able to join the private Q&A after the interview. If you want to attend, join Rappler+ and gain access to other events like this. Members get exclusive content and become part of a global community of people who believe in the power of independent journalism.

Register for the event here (note only members will be approved to join). Become a member by clicking on the JOIN RAPPLER+ button (top right corner of this page) or choose your preferred option below:

– Rappler.com

In this live interview, Maria Ressa and Margaret Heffernan will discuss leadership, management, and adapting to change in a time of crisis and uncertainty. 

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Watch the exclusive Q&A with Rappler+ members, use the password: w1llfulblindn3ss

Password: w1llfulblindn3ss

Watch the full interview including the exclusive Q&A with Rappler+ members:

Password: P3aceandDemocracy

On February 2 (Wednesday), she will interview author and professor Margaret Heffernan. She is the author of six books, including  “Willful Blindness : Why We Ignore the Obvious at our Peril,” which is considered one of the best business books of the decade by the Financial Times. In 2015, Heffernan was awarded the Transmission Prize for  A Bigger Prize: Why Competition isn’t Everything and How We Do Better, described as “meticulously researched… engagingly written… universally relevant and hard to fault.”

Currently, Margaret Heffernan is a Professor of Practice at the University of Bath, Lead Faculty for the Forward Institute’s Responsible Leadership Program. She holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath and continues to write for the Financial Times and the Huffington Post.

In this live interview, Maria Ressa and Margaret Heffernan will discuss leadership, management, and adapting to change in a time of crisis and uncertainty. 

Rappler+ members will be able to join the private Q&A after the interview on February 2 (Wednesday), 7 pm Manila time. If you want to attend, join Rappler+ and gain access to other events like this. Members get exclusive content and become part of a global community of people who believe in the power of independent journalism. Register for the event here (note only members will be approved to join). Become a member here.