Nobel Peace Prize: US-Russian journalists got respect, played an important role in protecting freedom of expression

The Nobel Peace Prizes for 2021 have been announced. This time the Nobel Committee has chosen two journalists for this honor. One of them is American journalist Maria Resa, founder of Rappler Media Group, and the other is Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov. The Nobel Committee has said that both of them are being awarded the Nobel Prize for protecting freedom of expression because freedom of speech is the first condition of democracy and lasting peace.

Who are the two Nobel-winning journalists?

1. Maria Resa

Maria Resa, an American journalist from the Philippines, is the co-founder of the news site Rappler. He has been honored in the past for his revelations on the misuse of power, violence, and the growing threat of dictatorship in the Philippines. Praising his role in freedom of expression, the Nobel Committee called him deserving of this honour.

2. Dmitry Muratov

Apart from this, the Nobel Peace Prize was also announced to Dmitry Muratov of Russia. He is the co-founder of the Russian independent newspaper Novaja Gazeta and has been the paper's editor-in-chief for the past 24 years. Despite President Vladimir Putin's dictatorial reign in Russia, Muratov has been known for his newspaper criticism of the government's plans. The Nobel Committee said Muratov has been defending the freedom of expression in Russia for several decades.

The Nobel Committee said that free, autonomous and fact-based journalism is important in protecting the power of power, from lies and propaganda of war. Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it would be very difficult to achieve harmony between countries and world order.