Was taken to the holy city of mashhad to a holy shrine there. Yesterday, it was taken to the holy city of rome. I went to stand. It will be a quiet affair, partly because of the coronavirus pandemic. And partly because of security reasons. They could be minister defense officials attending there and also other scientists who may not want to be seen on camera. But i think that part of it will, be broadcast on state t. V. , but the questions about the security of the country continue yesterday. We had Fars News Agency thats linked to the revolutionary guard, publish a version of events. They said that there were 3 security cause one went up ahead to scout the route and then there was a machine gun inside and pick up the pickup truck. The pickup truck that was remotely controlled and that began to fire. The pickup truck was then blown up and that was the cause. And they said that there were no gunman. Now that is in stark contrast to what we heard following the event state t. V. Ran interviews with individuals. Eye witnesses said that they saw gunman and why were hearing these version of events is because there are questions being asked about the security services. How this was allowed to happen. What exactly happened because theres one thing in the nation with so many individuals inside the country, but theres another thing getting away with it. Now the headlines and forces have shot down an Ethiopian Military plane and captured the pilots. A day after the Prime Minister declared victory in the region. State media says at least 70 graves have been found in the ticket in town of and its 110. 00 civilians killed in northeast nigeria in what the u. S. Described as a gruesome massacre of farmers tending their crops. The armed Group Boko Haram suspected of being behind this the deadliest attack in borno state this year. U. S. President elect joe biden is being treated for a fractured foot a day before hes to receive his 1st president ial briefing. Wisconsins 2 largest counties of also finalized the recount of their votes and theyve confirmed biden as the winner. Well, for mike hanna in washington, its now been confirmed that president elect biden actually fractured his ankle while playing in his garden with his 2 dogs, major and champion. His position says that hell be in a boot for a number of weeks. So joe biden limping along, but is administration is not, its going a pace with more appointments being announced in the course of the day. Joe biden has announced his Communications Staff to sure operate in the white house, and thats headed by gender, highly respected communications. Professional. She worked as the White House Communications director in the obama administration. She will head a team of 6 within the communications department, all of whom are women for the 1st time in u. S. History. The Communications Team will be staffed entirely by women. Putting out a tweet pointing out too that all 6 have young children, so it will be a very different white house and a biden. It would appear certainly from a Communications Point of view. Bidens receiving the personal daily brief. This is the intelligence information given to the president supposedly every day, although many reports indicate that President Trump has not been receiving the Daily Briefing in recent days. President trump himself continues to insist that there was fraud in the election. Hes repeated these allegations without providing any form of evidence whatsoever. And family farmers protesting in india have rejected the governments offer to hold talks with the anger, rises over new agricultural laws, thousands have been camping out on highways, new delhi, and blocking major roads. Demonstrators say the reforms will leave them vulnerable. You have to look at the headlines on aljazeera studio. B. Unscripted from london is next. A look at the headlines and 25 why are journalists under attack . Because democracy is under attack. Now i realize i was working for something that was evil, and i had been a part of actually creating it. When Mark Zuckerberg essentially said that it is ok for politicians to lie, that spells doom my name is maria ressa and im a journalist and author, the message that the government is sending is very clear. Be silent or your next. Ive received thousands of Death Threats on line. Thank you. Im christopher wiley. Im a Data Scientist, but most people know me as the Cambridge Analytical whistleblower. Thank facebook. Knew about Cambridge Analytical scheme since 2015. Before the story broke, facebook threatened to sue the guardian and then banned me for whistleblowing. Are revealed hard data is being manipulated to political gain without our consent. Thanks. Thanks. Since rappers started reporting the president protect us that the drug war, i believe that she did leave, charged and arrested. It makes you feel vulnerable, but i think its quite right. Im inspired by how maria continues to stand up for the truth in the face of real danger. Chrysis revelations lead to the largest danger Crime Investigation in history if we allow cheating in our democratic earth. And we allow this amount, what about next time . What about the time after that, we know firsthand what happens when social media is weaponize and the danger it now poses to our democracies around the world. This is an existential moment. And its time for us all to act its so good to talk to you. You figured out and then you created a system, you taught yourself how to code, you learned the data. And then you built this whole system that was very efficient at modifying behavior. And then you decided to take it down. When did you decide it was wrong . When i 1st joined the company that later became Cambridge Analytic, a c l group. I joined a company that at the time was working on projects that were geared towards countered stream ism encounter radicalization. Looking at how extremism spreads online and we got discovered by a guy by the name of steve bannon, who won 3 short got a billionaire to acquire the company. And what i saw was that i had worked on a system that got essentially inverted to radicalize young men in the United States. And its, you know, witnessing the inception of an insurgency, the already campaign. And so when i started seeing videos of people in focus groups who were so angry with things that were frankly untrue. You know, i realized i was working for something that was evil. And i had, you know, been a part of actually creating it. And i couldnt keep doing that. Its interesting when you said you were looking at it for a counter radicalization at 1st. I came to it because i was looking at how social Network Analysis spread the ideology of terrorism. And we created rappler because if you can convince people to blow themselves up with this radical ideology, why couldnt you have some things that are for a good, right . Thats why we created rappler. But then when you started seeing the negative parts, its hard to pull yourself out. How to be a whistleblower. What gave you the courage to do that . Yeah, i think it was for me, you know, growing up kind of as an outsider, i was partly in a wheelchair when i was growing up because of a invisible disability. And then i live on top of that sort of being queer. I came out as a with the war, but ive been coming out for my entire life and you know, for me its that sense of otherness that and comfortable with being uncomfortable. Yeah. That i think gave me a little bit of a notch to help me become, become a whistleblower. But with setting up rappler and, you know, being on the outside, i think youre going out there every single day. Pissing off a lot of people trying to do you find that you know, your lifes journey sort of influence and thought, oh gosh. So i was born in the philippines and then moved to the United States when martial law was declared in 1972. But when i was with americans, i never felt completely american. And when im filled with for the peanos, i built feel completely filipino either. So i guess its that its that otherness part of it, right. And that, thats good training for journalists or whistle blowing or whistle blowing. But i mean, i do find that theres a bit of an overlap because not that i would ever call myself a journalist. But in some senses i feel similar. Theres something similar about that. You know, shoving uncomfortable information into peoples faces and you, knowing you have to Pay Attention to this and then be viewing the consequences of that. So i was going say, thats the mission of journalism, right . You speak truth to power and youll know power doesnt like that in your and i think you been speaking truth. I mean theres a cost to yourself, but you also seem to learn something more from each instance that youve done that. Has this been a good experience or a bad experience . Its a mixed bag, i guess. I mean, i think its been on the whole a good experience for i have learned a lot. So how, you know, you know, after watching 2016 happen and knowing so many things about what was going on. You know, i learned that i do feel compelled to speak uncomfortable truth. But at the same time, you know, you know, getting called to testify. Our congress, you know, as a 20 something game or living in london, its not something that you really expects to be part of your lifes journey. That was pretty intimidating, is pretty intimidating to have, you know, the department of justice and f. B. I. Sitting behind me and you know, giving the a subpoena after that. But i think, i think on the whole, its been a good experience. Because if you think back before 28, seen the idea that privacy or data protection, you know, the internet would be a mainstream political issue in the 2020 election and the primary race would kind of be laughable. So i feel like at least in that sense, exposing wrongdoing and exposing the structures that facilitate and support that wrongdoing. With Companies Like facebook yet have at least opened up an awareness into a conversation in our mainstream political discourse that i think is productive. How easy is it to manipulate mass and im asking you, i get frustrated a lot by the current sort of discussion about the election manipulation because it so focuses on the United States and to a lesser extent, britain. Because britain and the United States. And im sure coming from the philippines. You know, this full well have been manipulating elections and democracy is around the world for hundreds of years. Britain was a empire, a speck. And, you know, the reason why, you know, the national drink in britain is tea and you know, National Animal is a lion and, you know, these are not natural things here. And so i think the reason why people are so upset in the United States or in britain or other parts of europe is an American Voter now understands what it feels like to be an african voter. Because, you know, living in a country where youve got a gradually eroding Information System where lies are everywhere, where you dont know what to trust. Youve got Foreign Countries left right and center, trying to manipulate you trick you deceive you and corruption rife in the administration. Looking at the philippines and something that id be interested in hearing your thoughts on coming from an x. U. S. Colony. Where you had a large country dictating the terms of how Government Works if you know, to becoming independent. And now having a large American Corporation run by a bunch of straight white dudes in america, starting to influence at least what information is allowed or not allowed to exist, or what gets amplified and promoted. Or what does thing in the philippines do you, do you feel like there is a sort of neocolonialism happening online . So youre the 1st person. I heard say that colonialism never died. It just moved on line. Right. And i think in, we talked about facebook as a 1st level, which i mean, frankly, the collapse that roshan of our institutions began on facebook. What the description of the philippines Stanley Karnow wrote in our image and he described the philippines as a country that spent 450 years in a convent and 50 years in hollywood. We were colonized by spain and then the United States. And i think its ironic that the country that gave democracy is also the, the place where Silicon Valley then has given someone like to tear down a bull. So narrow these types of authoritarian leaders who work who are killing democracy, the power to do it, to manipulate people. But i think we all know that the, our countries in the global south bear the brunt of all the tech, this issue. And that have been made, right . I mean, how do we get power, how weve never really had a seat at the table in these things. And weve, theyre the worst. Do you think you should go see other people . Sure. Threats part. I mean, part of the reason i can speak about it is because i can articulate it in a way that the west can understand. You currently are, you know, challenging and allegedly, and arguably corrupt regime. What does it mean for you to say give us a seat at the table . Do you give a corrupt regime a theater table to talk about now . So i think one of the things this time show us is exactly how Human Behavior is universal regardless of culture in many ways. Because of very same things that manipulate americans and europeans are the very same things that manipulate us in the global south. We just dont have the institutions to fight back and look how weak your institutions have gotten here. Behavioral modification system. How do we fix it . I think ive been a journalist for this is almost 35 years. Its never been as hard to work as a journalist, as it is today. I have to post bail 8 times. My government filed 11 cases and invested 11 cases and investigations that year and then began arresting me and 21001st arrests was valentines day. Those over the valentine, 00, and my government seems to work very well in february this february. You know, theyve, theyve gone and filed a, a similar case against the largest broadcaster in the philippines. What would you say, you know, to, to your critics in the philippines about the charges that you know, the government has lodged against you . Did you break the law . Oh my lord. No, i am challenging power, right . We continue to do our jobs and we will continue the line. I always use this. We are going to hold the line because the philippine constitution, like the United States constitution has a bill of rights where patterned after the United States constitution. And then let me ask you this, what the cambridge talladega do in the philippines, the Company Operated in many places around the world. This is something that also i learned, spending time there. That, you know, is its really profitable to go in corrupt governments. Because governments have, like really monetised that youve got sovereignty is something thats really hard for you, for a company to replicate. And you know, with you, karen, you can dictate, you know, mineral rights, resource rights, passports, all kinds of things in the philippines. You know, they are not as there are, you know, the story of the philippines. You guys kind of got trumped before everybody else. Ok. Yes. But youre facing prison in quite serious charges, least 80 years. Why do you care so much . Because then when it be easier to just go somewhere else, i mean i could toss in question at you why you became a whistleblower right . Because this is the time that matters. Because if i didnt stand up for the standards and ethics, the mission of journalism, when it matters, then Everything Else i did beforehand doesnt matter. Then im not who i am. Defining who you are. I hate this time period. I hate that the baton was passed to me now, but thats why it matters. How do we get Civic Engagement when people dont know the facts . I dont think we can. Its kind of like what were doing right now. Were sitting on a stage. Were having a discussion, there is an audience they know that were talking. And if i Say Something thats not true or somebody can call it, or a journalist can call it. What we have now is a situation where i can become invisible. And i can go and whisper in, so everybodys ear and they all hear something different. And i can do that now with the benefit of having followed everybody in the audience around for years and years and years reading through their text messages, listening to their phones, looking at everything that they look at, even when they dont realize that theyre being watched. And i dont think that we can have a functioning democracy when there is no longer public discourse, because everything has become privatized. And oftentimes people cant, dont even know if theyre receiving something that is targeted or not, which again goes back to if you get rid of transparency, you get rid of accountability. You get rid of democracy. We can take questions from the audience. Maria Julie Posetti from the International Center for journalists. Ive spent time with you and with your news organization, and i know that you have learned a lot as a result of the orchestrated dissin for measuring campaigns, the deliberate targeting of journalists and rappler in particular. Given that were talking particularly about what kristof has referred to as pushing, if these problems, you know, from the global south to the west. Can you tell us sitting here in london . What journalists in particular, dealing with these