Maria Ressa: How to Stand up to a Dictator
Maria Ressa is an American-Filipino, Nobel Peace Prize winning journalist. In this memoir Ressa discusses her life as a dual citizen, her journey into becoming a journalist, and her groundbreaking research into the ways Meta as a corporation, and social media as an industry, is contributing to the rise of Fascism across the globe.
How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa is a great starting place for readers getting into nonfiction. As a journalist, Ressa knows how to write engaging stories full of facts. For some, the focus on Ressa’s life might be a bit slow, but for others this is what makes the story so engaging. You follow Ressa as a main character, just like any other novel, and through the journey from her early life as a journalist, to her arrests and research into online disinformation, you learn How to Stand Up to a Dictator.
We particularly recommend this book to anyone struggling to understand how AI is fueling the online disinformation age. While Ressa’s research pre-dates generative AI as a social media actor by a decade, AI is simply super-charging the issues she explains simply and clearly.
Ethical Books
We encourage everyone to use their local library. Getting a card is one of the best ways you can support your library. If you prefer audio or digital books, consider Libby or Hoopla (also includes video content.) Check your library to see which tools they recommend and support. NOTE: returning digital books when you finish them helps libraries and other patrons. If you use Kindle’s library interface, they have made it hard to return books when you’re done, costing libraries money, so learn to return.
If you prefer to buy a physical book, or want to easily loan a favorite, we recommend the following options:
- Local bookstores have long been community centers, particularly for resistance. If you’re fortunate enough to still have a local store, buy there whenever you can. They can often order traditionally published books if they don’t have them on-shelf.
- Bookshop.org allows you to purchase physical and audio books while supporting small independent shops nationwide.
- Portland’s famous “city of Books”, Powell’s Books, has extensive stock including used and signed copies. They often run free shipping over $50.
- Half Price Books is an ethical company that promotes banned books and fights censorship. If you have used books to sell, they’re your simplest option: they take the whole box, paying for those they can resell and donating extra stock to schools and non-profit organizations.
