Author: Emma Lembke, Director of GenZ Advocacy,
The Sustainable Media Center
On January 15, 2026, I sat in the back of a packed conference audience at DLD26 in Munich, awaiting the remarks of the anti-tech titan, Maria Ressa.
The conference, populated with representatives of the most powerful technology giants of our time, promised groundbreaking conversations on technology, design, and innovation. DLD26’s invitation to Ressa was a deliberate acknowledgment that the negative aspects of the modern tech world cannot be ignored. Her remarks were an intentional pause in the program to examine what has truly been broken in an era defined by “moving fast and breaking things.”
I listened as Ressa — with courage, determination, and a mere 30 minutes — sought to unmask the culprit behind our global onslaught on democracy: Big Tech.
Her words lingered with eerie propheticism yet demanded immediate attention, and thus, my takeaways from the half hour were palpable.
First, radical collaboration must serve as the ultimate propellant — launching us toward a stronger digital and democratic future. At the outset of her remarks, Ressa emphasized that if there is one phrase the audience should carry with them, it is “radical collaboration.” Over the course of the next half hour, it became clear that this idea functioned as Ressa’s center of gravity. Throughout her activism and her work with Rappler, she has consistently pursued radical collaboration not simply to repair broken digital systems, but to build something better in their place.
For Ressa, “better” means collaboratively confronting how narrative warfare fractures our shared sense of reality — and, in turn, undermines democratic systems themselves. As I reflected on this vision, I found myself thinking about how a “better” digital experience is defined differently across the tech-advocacy ecosystem. Some prioritize Section 230 reform; others champion safety-by-design approaches. While the solutions vary, the mechanism for change remains the same: thoughtful, sustained, and meaningful collaboration.
Second, narrative warfare is real — and if you are on social media, you are a target. In her characteristic fashion, Ressa devoted much of her remarks to outlining the dangers we face if the current status quo of inaction persists. She guided listeners through what she calls the “disinformation lifecycle” (pictured below), a framework that captures the stark reality of how information operations and online platforms work together to normalize falsehoods.
These lies, once embedded, erode truth and agency — and with them, democracy itself. As Ressa described this lifecycle, she drew on her lived experience in the Philippines, where she has witnessed this destruction firsthand. Yet her account prompted a broader reflection: in today’s digital ecosystem, doesn’t it feel as though we are all watching the slow decimation of public discourse? Opinions are suppressed, extremist content spreads at breakneck speed, and addictive platform features keep us suspended in a toxic trance engineered by Big Tech. As Ressa reminds us, this warfare is unfolding all around us — and if you are part of the system, you are its target, whether you choose to be or not.
My last and, quite frankly, most important takeaway can be found in one of Reesa’s seemingly innocuous off-handed comments. As Ressa began to wrap up her demonstration of Rappler and conclude her remarks, she said:
“I have both PTSD and deja vu because I am living through it [destruction of democracy] again in America.”
Hearing this remark, I was taken aback. I wasn’t just processing the warning offered by the acclaimed activist, scholar, and builder standing before me — I felt deeply connected to her sense of PTSD and déjà vu. As a member of Gen Z, I carry vivid memories from the online world that still linger. Unwanted pictures being sent to me by strangers I did not know, content depicting the body I did not have, and hours scrolling through slop I did not want to see — these experiences left digital scars that many in my generation share.
We grew up in an unregulated and unprotected social media landscape, and we now find ourselves watching history repeat itself as AI follows the same trajectory: profit and innovation elevated above the well-being of young users.
It is now the responsibility of those of us who listened to Ressa on that stage in Munich — including myself — to become torchbearers of both her message and her warning. We must carry her insights forward: that radical collaboration is essential for change, that narrative warfare is not a distant threat but a present reality, and that generational déjà vu must not be allowed to repeat itself in the age of AI.
I look forward to carrying that torch and invite you to join me.
