Maria Ressa warns Trump’s US mirrors Philippines’ path to authoritarianism

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa said the erosion of democratic safeguards in the U.S. resembles the collapse of institutions in the Philippines under Rodrigo Duterte. Speaking with Jon Stewart for “The Daily Show” on Sept. 19 in the wake of Disney taking “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air, she warned that executive power is consolidating in familiar ways. “Since 2016, I’ve been saying over and over and over, I told you so,” Ressa said, while Stewart admitted he had once believed American institutions were resilient.

Ressa, whose 2022 memoir was titled “How to Stand Up to a Dictator,” emphasized that the U.S. is experiencing the same vulnerabilities she documented in the Philippines, particularly the failure of checks and balances to act in real time. Stewart asked whether she was surprised by the speed of democratic decline under Trump, noting it seemed to take only months. Ressa responded that Duterte had collapsed the Philippine system within six months of taking power, adding that Trump’s pace was even faster, pointing to “143 executive orders” in his first 100 days.

The conversation also focused on how technology accelerates authoritarian control. Ressa explained that Filipinos spent more time online than any other population until 2021, making the country an early testing ground for mass manipulation. “By design, these platforms spread lies,” she said, citing a 2018 MIT study that found false information spreads six times faster than truth. Stewart drew comparisons to food science, describing algorithms as “ultra-processed speech” designed to bypass natural resistance. Ressa agreed, warning that institutions falter when information itself is corrupted, and she closed by noting that Duterte is now detained in The Hague facing trial at the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.