From Rodrigo Duterte, to Narendra Modi, to Donald Trump, strongman leaders around the world are harnessing big tech to consolidate their power. Social media is also being used to energise and organise resistance movements, but is the bad increasingly outweighing the good?

The 2025 Southeast Asia Oration Media Freedom and Democracy in Southeast Asia was held at the University of Melbourne, in partnership with Asialink, the Asia Institute, and the ASEAN Australia Centre.

Speakers

Maria Ressa Filippino journalist, co-founder and CEO of online news site Rappler, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, author, How to Stand Up to a Dictator

Laura Tingle Global Affairs Editor, ABC

Nicholas Coppel Former Australian Ambassador Myanmar, author, Myanmar's Digital Coup, President of the Australia Myanmar Institute

Dr Ken Setiawan Senior Lecturer in Indonesian Studies at the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne

Professor Michael Wesley (host) Deputy Vice Chancellor (Global, Culture and Engagement), University of Melbourne