Maria Ressa was one of two journalists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, becoming the first Filipino to claim the achievement. Together with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, Ressa was awarded the prestigious Prize for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”

Among her accolades are the 2021 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in recognition of her efforts to ensure the integrity of journalism in the Philippines. She has also received the Albie Award in 2022 for championing justice for journalists. Given by the Clooney Foundation for Justice, the award recognises Ressa’s continuing efforts to report the truth and report it with integrity.

Ressa has also been named one of TIME Magazine’s 2018 Persons of the Year, was among its 100 Most Influential People of 2019, and has also been named one of Time's Most Influential Women of the Century. She is an inaugural Carnegie Distinguished Fellow at Columbia University’s newly launched Institute of Global Politics. In July 2024, Ressa will join the faculty of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs as a professor of professional practice.

However, while she has earned respect and plaudits overseas, the Filipino-American journalist continues to be a controversial figure in the Philippines. Rappler has come under fire for its hard-hitting reportage critical of the Duterte administration, and Ressa’s tribulations were the subject of the 2020 documentary A Thousand Cuts. In September 2023, she was acquitted of tax fraud, one of the charges described in the documentary. While prosecutors have maintained that these are legitimate legal actions, others view the charges as part of a broader pattern of silencing journalists in the country.