Hear journalist and activist Maria Ressa's keynote address to the 2025 Camden Conference followed by political scientist Joshua Tucker's discussion of social media and the polarization of politics. Full videos of the talks can be found here.
Maria Ressa co-founded Rappler, the top digital-only news site that is leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines. In October 2021, Maria was one of two journalists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” She is a Professor of Practice at the Institute of Global Politics at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she leads projects related to artificial intelligence and democracy. Her most recent book, How to Stand Up to a Dictator, was released in November 2022 and has been translated into more than 20 languages.
Joshua Tucker is the Director of NYU’s Jordan Center for Advanced Study of Russia, and co-Director of the NYU Center for Social Media and Politics. His research originally examined mass political behavior in post-communist countries, but for the past dozen years he has focused on the intersection of the digital information environment, social media, and politics. He is the co-chair of the external academic team for the U.S. 2020 Facebook & Instagram Election Study, serves on the advisory board of the American National Election Study, the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, and numerous academic journals, and was the co-founder and co-editor of the Journal of Experimental Political Science.