JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

After five years in exile, Carlos Chamorro reflects on how Confidencial continues reporting on Nicaragua from abroad. He outlines the challenges of protecting sources and collaborators, verifying information without journalists on the ground, reaching audiences inside Nicaragua despite censorship, and sustaining a newsroom across borders.

Reporters Without Borders examines how China is exporting its model of state-controlled journalism and expanding its influence over the global information space. The report documents pressure on independent media abroad, including harassment and transnational repression targeting exiled and diaspora journalists, as well as efforts to recruit, coerce or silence media outlets outside China.

As journalists remain in exile for longer periods, technology is reshaping how they report, reach audiences and sustain their work across borders — while creating new vulnerabilities through surveillance, censorship and cyberattacks. At ISOJ 2026, JX Fund joined experts from IAPA, CPJ and RSF to discuss these opportunities and risks for exiled media.

A series of copyright complaints has led Meta to block the social media accounts of several Azerbaijani independent media outlets, including Abzas Media and Toplum TV. Many operate from abroad after facing repression at home, making social platforms crucial for reaching audiences in Azerbaijan. CPJ and NEMO have condemned the apparent misuse of copyright mechanisms to restrict exiled media.

Crossing a border doesn’t end the threats. Exiled journalists from Afghanistan, Russia, and the Uyghur community describe cyberattacks, disinformation, poisoning attempts, and pressure on family members back home—transnational repression that’s rising fast as exile itself has nearly doubled worldwide in five years.

Ten rights groups, led by RSF, are pressing Guatemalan authorities to turn President Arévalo’s acknowledged “historic debt” to exiled journalists into concrete guarantees—covering safe return, reviewed prosecutions, stronger protections, and non-recurrence—after a report documented at least 16 forced into exile over the past decade.

Far from home, exiled newsrooms face a daily balancing act. Amu TV and Kashmir Times editors describe how they verify facts without being on the ground, protect sources under surveillance and authoritarian threat, and guard hard-won credibility—choosing to delay stories, embrace anonymity, and admit mistakes rather than risk lives or trust.

Good journalism alone doesn’t pay the bills, says Marius Dragomir of the Media and Journalism Research Center. In this interview, he explains why quality and revenue require different skills, how donor dependence quietly shapes editorial choices, and why small outlets are “captured through starvation” rather than acquisition—plus what funders consistently get wrong.

Serbia is now the only EU-Balkans country where journalists flee for safety. Columnist Marko Vidojković and military reporter Aleksandar Radić are among six exiled amid death threats, smear campaigns, and state harassment. As Belgrade edges toward EU accession, RSF says Brussels can no longer ignore Serbia’s press freedom crisis.

Turkish journalist Doğan Ertuğrul has lived in exile in Vienna since 2016, running the critical outlet Kronos News. In July 2026, Turkey froze his assets over alleged terror links, hitting his pension too. With elections looming in 2028, Ertuğrul sees deliberate intimidation. RSF demands international solidarity for press freedom in Türkiye.

Journalists usually report the news, not live it. At NEMO’s latest Knowledge Exchange Session, representatives from independent exiled media organizations turned that around, reflecting on their own experience of forced relocation: rebuilding infrastructure, securing digital access, and starting over in unfamiliar countries.

The internet is a haven for journalism in countries where press freedom is endangered. Exiled outlets report from abroad, beyond the reach of domestic regulators and press laws. But no space is truly safe: in recent years autocracies have innovated to promote their agendas online, exploit social media algorithms, and block critical media.

Myanmar Satirical Journalism sits at the center of one of the most dramatic press-freedom reversals documented anywhere on this site: a media landscape that had genuinely opened during the 2011 to 2021 reform period collapsed back into severe restriction within weeks of the February 2021 military coup.

Strong institutions make the Baltic states global leaders in media freedom, while independent local media across the Eastern Partnership face unstable, crisis-driven funding and constrained decision-making power. This article presents a report on media development, looking at three interconnected themes: Funding, local ownership, and adaptation.

Nicaraguan journalists who sought refuge in Costa Rica say they are facing surveillance and intimidation linked to the Ortega regime. The reports suggest that repression extends beyond Nicaragua’s borders, undermining Costa Rica’s role as a safe haven and exposing the growing risks of transnational repression for journalists who continue reporting from exile.

A coalition of human rights organizations warns that Vietnamese authorities are expanding repression beyond national borders, targeting journalists and critics living in Thailand. The cases of exiled journalists Truong Duy Nhat and Duong Van Thai highlight the risks faced by independent reporters abroad, including surveillance, intimidation, detention and threats of forced return.

CIVICUS discusses the repression of press freedom in Djibouti with Zineb Haddaji, an exiled independent journalist who covers Djibouti and the Horn of Africa for international outlets and documents freedom of expression violations. Zineb is the founder of ZoomIn, a weekly TikTok series on daily life and systemic issues in Djibouti.

At an IRE26 panel, exiled journalists from Iran, Tibet, and Venezuela shared advice on reporting from afar: prioritize source protection and trust-building, verify via NGOs or satellite imagery, collaborate across networks, and resist “propaganda creep”, subtle state-shaped terms and narratives seeping into Western coverage.