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Bypassing Censorship to Reach Audiences in Iran

  • ijnet
  • Devin Windelspecht, Stratton Marsh

For nearly 20 years, Zamaneh Media has bridged the gap in one of the world’s most repressive information ecosystems: Iran. Operating from the Netherlands, the outlet delivers critical reporting on human rights, politics, and culture to audiences inside Iran, overcoming censorship, threats, and digital attacks.

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On Sustainability for Exiled Newsrooms

  • ICFJ
  • Caro Gaston

José J. Nieves is developing resources to help newsrooms in exile plan for a sustainable future. Originally from Cuba, Nieves has been running his independent media platform El Toque from exile since 2019.

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Adapting to Survive: How Exiled Media Lead Innovation

  • JX Fund

With the increasing monopolization of information infrastructures on one side and targeted disinformation campaigns and propaganda by authoritarian regimes on the other, facts have become lonely things. However, for many exiled media outlets, this isn’t breaking news but rather a reality they have already adapted to. The constant need to innovate in response to new circumstances has given rise to unconventional business models.

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How Editors Manage Their Newsrooms From Exile

  • Reuters Institute
  • Gretel Kahn

Finding revenue, repelling attacks and protecting sources: Media leaders from Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Belarus and El Salvador open up about leading organisations that report on their countries from afar.

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The Russian Independent Media Archive

  • Nieman Reports
  • Ann Cooper

As Vladimir Putin’s regime tightens its grip on free speech, the Russian Independent Media Archive (RIMA) is stepping up to preserve endangered journalism. With backing from PEN America and Bard College, RIMA safeguards independent media, ensuring critical journalism outlasts authoritarian attempts to erase it.

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AI-Powered Currency Rates Reshape Cuba’s Economic Landscape

  • Nieman Lab
  • Andrew Deck

In Cuba’s economic crisis, the exiled independent news outlet El Toque has transformed into a vital resource for currency exchange information. With an AI-powered dashboard, it provides real-time rates that challenge government narratives, gaining popularity and user trust amid increasing censorship and political pressure.

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Study: A New Phase in the Fight for Press Freedom in Russia

  • JX Fund

Over the past year, Russia has done more than simply refine its already deeply repressive system – it is currently in the middle of building a new model of digital censorship, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on top of its already bloated propaganda budgets to ensure its people are fully isolated from independent and objective voices. One of the Kremlin’s most important targets: Russian independent media in exile.

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Myanmar: Media Experimenting with Business Models

  • Media Development Investment Fund

The Business of Independent Myanmar Media Post-Coup: Experimenting with business models inside the country and in exile examines the ways in which independent media businesses have responded to, and been changed by, the 1 February 2021 military coup, and the business opportunities they have seized in its wake.

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Exiled Russian Book Publishers Defy Kremlin Censors

  • NPR
  • Michele Kelemen

A new generation of Russian writers in exile is reviving Soviet-era tactics to outsmart Putin’s censorship. Through digital publishing, they’re documenting the war in Ukraine and government repression, reaching thousands back home with uncensored stories Russian authorities try to suppress.

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Latin American Journalists in Exile Share Strategies

  • LatAm Journalism Review
  • Silvia Higuera

Exiled journalists in Latin America face growing challenges, from economic instability to threats against their safety. Cuban journalist José Nieves is tackling this crisis with innovative strategies for media sustainability. His podcast “Hablando en Plata” offers insights into financial survival and resilience for independent media in hostile environments.

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Media in Exile is Defeating Censorship

  • Confidencial
  • Carlos F. Chamorro

In Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, exiled reporters are not just surviving, they’re innovating. Despite crackdowns, they’re finding new ways to keep independent journalism alive, earning the 2024 IAPA Press Freedom Prize for their bold defiance of censorship.

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The Russian Independent Media Archive

  • Nieman Reports

As Russian independent media continues to face severe censorship following the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Independent Media Archive (RIMA) is stepping in to preserve critical journalism for future generations. Co-founded by renowned journalist Masha Gessen and historian Ilia Venyavkin, RIMA aims to protect the work of over 55 independent media outlets from disappearing under the weight of state repression.

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How Can Technological Solutions Support Media in Exile?

  • MIZ Babelsberg

With beabee for media in exile, funded by MIZ Babelsberg, a team from German independent newsroom CORRECTIV and Russian podcast platform Radio Sakharov set out to develop a membership and community platform designed especially for the needs of media in exile. Using the existing open source platform beabee, the team implemented additional features to enhance security for users in countries like Russia and facilitate (anonymous) engagement.

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Russia: How Exiled Publishers Bypass Censorship

  • The Fix
  • Veronica Snoj

Russia’s censorship following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine not only led to the blocking of numerous independent Russian media outlets but also social media platforms popular with their audiences. For the Fix Veronica Snoj wrote down how exiled publishers serve audiences on new platforms and educate them on tools to bypass censorship.

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The Tools to Bypass Russian Censorship

  • The Fix
  • Veronica Snoj

As an exiled media outlet addressing Russian audiences, Meduza quickly fell under the Kremlin’s radar. It became one of the first media outlets the Russian authorities added to its “foreign agent” list in April 2021. For The Fix Veronica Snoj took a look at the tools the Latvia-based media outlet uses to reach its audiences in Russia.

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Georgia: A Crisis Point For Press Freedom

  • European Centre for Press and Media Freedom

In Spring 2024, a delegation from the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) conducted a press freedom fact-finding mission to Tbilisi, Georgia as part of a project funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Today, ECPMF publishes a report detailing the findings of the mission, which paint a picture of independent media in the midst of an existential crisis.

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Digital Surveillance of Russian Civil Society

  • Reporter ohne Grenzen

After the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022 and since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the legal basis for the Russian state’s digital surveillance of opposition and anti-Kremlin citizens has been expanded. This report presents a chronological list of legal restrictions on internet freedom due to expanded surveillance measures and describes the technical implementation of surveillance.

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