JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

Work in exile does not mean a happy end  –  it makes inequalities deeper. Furthermore, two-thirds of journalists in exile leave the profession, while working in editorial offices tend to be more sustainable. Researcher and Professor at Salzburg University, Hanan Badr, discusses the collective experience of journalists in exile.

Most exile journalism documents symptoms. We’re investigating root causes: how displacement has become central to how power operates in the 21st century, how the same networks that enable resistance also enable surveillance, and why sanctuary is shrinking even as exile accelerates.

Amid rising global repression and shrinking donor support, understanding how exile media remain viable, independent, and impactful is increasingly urgent. The study identifies key factors that enable media organizations to adapt, survive, and continue serving their communities from abroad. It also offers practical recommendations for exile media, media development actors, donors, and policymakers.

Article on how intergovernmental organisations address the challenges faced by journalists in exile, highlighting threats like transnational repression, gaps in legal protection, and emerging support mechanisms. The United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, adopted in 2012, does not even mention journalists in exile.

This research explores the gender and ethnicity-based challenges faced by Kurdish female journalists, focusing on their professional experiences in Turkey and in exile.

EUvsDisinfo has published an article detailing how Lukashenka’s regime continues its harsh retaliation against Belarusians five years after the 2020 protests. The piece highlights ongoing arrests, torture, and exile as part of the government’s efforts to suppress dissent and maintain control.

Last summer, Russian authorities began throttling YouTube playback speeds, rendering the popular video platform practically unusable. This has pushed many Russians to change their media consumption habits. Meduza analyzes the current and potential consequences of the Kremlin’s ongoing campaign against YouTube.

After seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban moved swiftly to impose a stifling control over Afghan society. The former constitution and legal framework were both suspended pending a “review” of their compatibility with sharia law. In their place, the Taliban have gradually installed a complex web of new laws and policies, many dictated directly by the group’s elusive supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzadah.

With the announcement of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel (one both governments pledged to uphold conditionally, contingent on the other’s restraint), speculation has begun to shift from whether the conflict would escalate into full-scale regional war to whether this pause might create space for diplomacy, reconstruction, or even domestic reform in Iran.

In a new study from DW Akademie and IPLEX, Central American women journalists in exile explain the challenges they face – and their resilience. Being a journalist in Central America is challenging enough, but the difficulties facing a journalist in exile can be even greater. For women journalists in exile in Central America, their work can be overwhelming.

Born from the University of Oregon’s international symposium on journalism-in-exile, this book gathers the reflections and accounts of journalists who have faced danger, persecution, and threats to their safety due to their commitment to journalistic integrity, while also highlighting the work of advocacy groups supporting press freedom in repressive environment.

Since Sudan’s civil war began in April 2023, over 400 journalists have fled, and at least ten exile media outlets have emerged, mainly in Egypt, to report on the overlooked crisis. These outlets offer crucial coverage of abuses against civilians, while Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounces the harassment they face in host countries.

Alesya Sokolova on how the relatively low popularity of independent media may be influenced not only by censorship but also by the choice of topics and the tone of content. While censorship remains the biggest obstacle, audience fatigue with negativity and a narrow thematic focus may also push even opposition-minded readers away.

This paper by Diana Shahbazyan aims to provide a comprehensive needs analysis of exiled journalists from Belarus and Russia. The findings provide an understanding of the key issues affecting exiled journalists and media organizations, and outline both their immediate needs and primary action points.

This study investigates the experiences of 103 Russian journalists who left their country after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It examines their professional environment, values, and roles as they continue their work abroad, focusing on maintaining journalistic integrity while navigating new political and cultural challenges, and the intersection of journalism and activism.

This study explores the role of exiled Egyptian journalists in Türkiye, emphasizing their attempts to establish legitimacy and a professional identity that sets them apart from mainstream media. This analysis highlights the complexities of exiled journalism as it seeks to balance professional aspirations with the realities of political affiliations and conflicts.

How are exiled and hybrid outlets building resilient digitally-enabled outlets? How can these networks be more active in shaping the norms and policies that will shape the digital environment they increasingly depend upon? This lightening-talk panel presents results from CIMA research and a side-line discussion hosted at the ARIJ forum.