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

“Would the police, my government be stupid enough to target me? Well, yes. The Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights estimated that about twenty-seven thousand people were killed in less than three years of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal drug war, from 2016 to 2018. True? Who knows? That statistic is the first casualty in my country’s battle for truth.”

Ressa employs a rhetorical question to engage the reader and highlight the severity of the situation in the Philippines. By answering her own question with a resounding “yes,” she emphasizes the government’s willingness to target individuals like herself. The estimated death toll during Duterte’s drug war is a shocking statistic underscoring the gravity of the situation. Ressa then questions the accuracy of the statistic, using short, fragmented sentences to create a sense of uncertainty and emphasize the idea that truth itself is under attack in her country. This passage sets the tone for the book, highlighting the personal risk Ressa faces and the broader struggle for truth in the Philippines.

“As these numbers show and as Facebook admits, the Philippines is ground zero for the terrible effects that social media can have on a nation’s institutions, its culture, and the minds of its populace. Every development that happens in my country eventually happens in the rest of the world—if not tomorrow, then a year or two later.”

The metaphor “ground zero” shows the severity of the impact of social media on the Philippines. By comparing the country to the site of a catastrophic event, Ressa emphasizes the far-reaching and devastating consequences of social media’s influence. The all-encompassing inclusion of “a nation’s institutions, its culture, and the minds of its populace” highlights comprehensive nature of the damage inflicted by social media. The warning that the events in the Philippines are a harbinger of what will happen globally establishes the Philippines as a cautionary tale, developing the idea of