Rappler first went public as a beta version website on January 1, 2012, the same day that the Philippine Daily Inquirer published a Rappler piece that broke out the story of (then) Philippine Chief Justice Renato Corona being awarded a University of Santo Tomas doctoral degree without a required dissertation.
Rappler pertama kali diluncurkan kepada publik melalui situs web versi beta pada 1 Januari 2012, hari yang sama ketika Philippine Daily Inquirer mempublikasikan potongan berita Rappler yang membahas Hakim Agung Filipina (di kemudian hari) Renato Corona yang dianugerahi gelar doktor dari University of Santo Tomas tanpa disertasi yang dipersyaratkan.