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Russia Preps to Block Income of ‘Foreign Agent’ Journalists

  • CPJ

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, CPJ has tracked 247 journalists branded as foreign agents and 6 exiled journalists sentenced in absentia. With a new law set to take effect in 2025, exiled media faces even tighter controls, forcing them to funnel earnings into special accounts as authorities continue their crackdown.

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Independent Media in Russia, Ukraine Lose Their Funding

  • The Washington Post
  • David L. Stern & Robyn Dixon

Independent media in Russia and Ukraine, critical for alternative reporting, have lost funding due to a USAID freeze. Many exiled Russian outlets, reliant on U.S. grants to reach Russian audiences with war and political coverage, now face a challenging future with the loss of critical financial support.

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Beyond the “Good Russian” – Rethinking Exile and Engagement

  • Kennan Institute
  • Sofia Gavrilova

Sofia Gavrilova explores the complex challenges Russian emigrants face since 2022, navigating tensions with host societies, fellow exiles, and their homeland. She argues that for a democratic Russia’s future, Russian exiles must move beyond victimhood, actively engage with local communities, and build bridges through concrete actions and inclusive dialogue.

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Persecution of Press Intensified in The Final Months of 2024

  • Belarusian Association of Journalists

In the final quarter of 2024, there was a rise in the criminal prosecution of journalists, both domestically and in absentia, along with more frequent searches of journalists’ homes and offices, and a wider scope of censorship. The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) has documented these alarming developments in a recent statement.

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Trump’s Foreign Aid Freeze Throws Global Journalism into Chaos

  • RSF

President Donald Trump has frozen billions of dollars around the world in aid projects, including over $268 million allocated by Congress to support independent media and the free flow of information. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounces this decision, which has plunged NGOs, media outlets, and journalists doing vital work into chaotic uncertainty.

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Kremlin Blocks YouTube, Russian Users Find Workarounds

  • The New York Times
  • Paul Sonne

Paul Sonne (NYT) reports on the Kremlin’s efforts to cripple YouTube in Russia, pushing users toward state-controlled platforms. While many Russians are finding ways around the restrictions through VPNs, journalist Ilya Shepelin, now in exile, warns that only politically active users will remain on YouTube.

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‘Nicaragua Has Become a Terrorist State’

  • IPS
  • Wendy Quintero Chávez & Lucía Pineda Ubau

Journalists Wendy Quintero Chávez and Lucía Pineda Ubau shed light on the harsh realities of systemic torture, rigged elections, and the fight for press freedom in Nicaragua. Since 2018, over 350 lives have been lost, 56 media outlets banned, and 900+ exiled. Despite facing threats and violence, they continue to fight for truth and the right to report freely, even from exile.

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Flight and Fight: Supporting Journalists in Exile

    The issue of exiled journalists goes beyond individual stories of courage. It strikes at the heart of human rights. Journalists are in exile because their most basic human rights—particularly the right to freedom of expression—are being systematically denied. These are not isolated incidents; they are symptoms of broader failures to uphold international norms and hold oppressive regimes accountable.

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    Why Do Belarusian Journalists Risk Their Lives For The Truth?

    • The Journal
    • Sasha Romanova

    41 Belarusian journalists remain behind bars since 2020, punished for covering protests against presidential election fraud that gave Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in power. Their prison sentences range from 3 to 15 years, simply for doing their jobs — reporting the news. Hundreds more have fled the country. Yet they continue their work. Why?

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    Taliban Have Detained 300 Media Workers Since 2021

    • Amu TV
    • Habib Mohammadi

    The Afghanistan Journalists in Exile in a statement on Sunday said that the Taliban have detained at least 300 journalists and media workers during their three years of rule in the country, describing the detainees as having endured “profound and indescribable violence” while in custody.

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    Nicaragua’s Proposed Media Reform

    • Voice of America
    • Graham Keeley

    Nicaragua is expected to rubber stamp a change to its constitution in January that alters presidential power and increases state control over media. If ratified, the change would mandate that the state has power to ensure media outlets and platforms are not “subject to foreign interests and do not spread false news.”

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    Azerbaijan: Authorities are Targeting Journalists

    • GlobalVoices
    • Arzu Geybullayeva

    Azerbaijan’s press freedom crisis deepens as six Meydan TV journalists face smuggling charges and four-month detention. Arrests align with a broader crackdown targeting opposition media, activists, and politicians, raising alarm over escalating repression in Baku.

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    Tajikistan’s Journalists In Exile

    • OCCRP
    • Muhamadjon Kabirov and Firuzi Makhmadali

    The repressive Central Asian nation has never been an easy place to be a journalist. But a notorious crackdown on peaceful protesters in 2022 took a bad situation and made it worse, sending some journalists to jail and others into exile.

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    RSF’s 2024 Round-up

    • RSF

    The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2024 Round-up reveals an alarming intensification of attacks on journalists — especially in conflict zones, where over half of the news professionals who lost their lives this year perished.

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    Afghanistan: “Half the Population is Silenced”

    • France24
    • Marc Perelman

    FRANCE 24 spoke to Saad Mohseni, co-founder and CEO of Moby, Afghanistan’s largest media group. His new book “Radio Free Afghanistan” chronicles the ups and downs of building a media conglomerate in the country.

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    Syria: “I Haven’t Cried So Much in so Long”

    • CNN

    At the start of the Syrian civil war, citizen journalist Rami Jarrah picked up a camera to document Assad government atrocities. He says, “We’ve been given our country back, and we have the opportunity now to build it.”

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    Newsrooms Fight Back Against Criminalization

    • Nieman Lab
    • José Zamora

    In 2025, attacks on journalists are set to escalate. A disturbing global trend continues to expand: the use of criminal law to silence journalists. This tactic, perfected by authoritarian regimes in places like Nicaragua, Venezuela, Russia, China, and the Philippines, is now spreading worldwide.

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