JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

RSF brought together EU institutions and exiled journalists to discuss countering Kremlin propaganda through the Svoboda satellite package. The initiative reaches millions of households in Russia and Belarus, helping exiled outlets bypass internet censorship and reconnect with audiences at home. The event also highlighted the need for continued support for exiled media.

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.

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.

Three years after being investigated for covering José Rubén Zamora’s trial, former elPeriódico journalists can legally return to Guatemala. But with courts closing the case and little else changed, four remain in exile, saying the state still owes them guarantees, reparations, and an apology before they’ll come home.

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.

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.

Russia’s parliament unanimously passed a law targeting exiled critics, including “foreign agents,” with frozen bank accounts, revoked driving licenses, and denied consular services like passport renewal. RSF warns the Kremlin is extending repression beyond its borders to silence independent journalism abroad.

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 new GIJN feature explores how investigative journalists from Turkey, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and Georgia collaborate across borders to uncover corruption and environmental crime in the Black Sea region. The story highlights how international partnerships, shared expertise and secure cross-border reporting help sustain accountability journalism under increasing political pressure.

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.

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.

Exiled journalists often struggle to navigate mental health while facing challenges presented by language barriers, burnout, and even Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Some, also face an identity crisis causing them to lose their professional identity, audiences, and the newsroom communities that shaped their daily lives.

In this podcast episode of Booda Media’s “Fasl-e-Digher” program, Lina Rozbeh, a renowned Afghan poet, writer and journalists talks about women, migration, war, identity, freedom, the Taliban and the current situation and future of Afghanistan. Moreover, she discusses her experience in media and literature, the fate of women, the role of intellectuals and the responsibility of media.

In this article the Iranian writer and journalist Vorya H. Panahi Tazehabad, who lives in exile writes about his own personal experience with persecution, threats, political repression and ongoing safety hazards in exile. The digital age enabled making digital intimidation, monitoring or silencing dissenting voices harder to escape from a distance.

RSF is giving their supported exiled journalist the opportunity to tell their stories in their new blog series Blogreihe home². They write about their lives in between their old and new home, about language, identity, journalistic work and the challenges of a restart. The first edition is written by the Iraqi exiled journalist Shan Sabir living in Germany.