58 of 919

Proud to Be Labeled a ‘Foreign Agent’

  • Tagesspiegel
  • Nikita Sologub

In the article, journalist Nikita Sologub shares how independent media like Mediazona continue reporting in Russia despite mounting repression. Founded to expose abuses in the Russian prison system, Mediazona has operated for over a decade, even as press freedom has deteriorated and the state increasingly targets dissenting voices.

Read more (DE)

Muwatin’s Fight for Media Independence in the Gulf

  • Global Voices
  • Walid El Houri

On World Press Freedom Day, Global Voices turns their attention to the independent outlets operating in exile due to censorship, harassment, or direct threats. One such voice is Muwatin, a London-based independent media outlet reporting on issues from the Arabian Gulf, founded by the editor and researcher Mohammed Al-Fazari.

Read more

Mizzima News: Surviving the Junta’s Crackdown

  • Global Voices
  • Mong Palatino

Mizzima News, an independent media outlet, has continued to report on Myanmar’s struggle for democracy despite the military coup in 2021. After the coup, Mizzima quickly adapted by relocating its operations to remote regions and using satellite broadcasting to bypass junta censorship.

Read more

An Iranian in Exile in Berlin

  • Tagesspiegel
  • Mahtab Qolizadeh

In her article, Mahtab Qolizadeh reflects on the challenges she faces as an exiled Iranian journalist in Berlin. After fleeing Iran to escape imprisonment and torture, she hoped to find freedom and purpose in writing, but instead feels lost and disconnected in her new life. Struggling with isolation and trauma, Qolizadeh grapples with the sense that her freedom lacks meaning, and she is haunted by memories of her imprisonment.

Read more (DE)

The Challenges of Covering Russia And Syria From Exile

  • Reuters Institute
  • Asmaa al-Omar & Maria (Masha) Kiseleva

In this special World Press Freedom Day episode of Fellowship Takeaways, a podcast by the Reuters Institute, two exiled journalists speak on covering Russia and Syria from afar. They discuss the challenges of building trust, maintaining sources’ anonymity, the emotional toll of their work and what newsrooms can do better to support journalists in exile.

Listen

Kurdish Journalism Day Marks 127 Years of Resistance and Truth

  • Medya News

Kurdish Journalism Day honors 127 years since the first Kurdish newspaper, marking a legacy of resistance and truth-telling in the face of censorship, exile, and violence. Exiled and local journalists across the Middle East continue the struggle for press freedom, using journalism as both activism and cultural preservation.

Read more

Writing from Exile: The Chat with Taha Siddiqui

  • 49th Shelf
  • Trevor Corkum

Taha Siddiqui’s haunting, inspired graphic memoir The Dissident Club: The Chronicle of a Pakistani Journalist in Exile follows his early childhood in Saudi Arabia through his career as a dissident journalist and exile from his native Pakistan. Trevor Corkum interviewed him to understand why he chose to tell his life story in the form of a graphic memoir.

Read more

Russian Independent Media Continues to Find Refuge in Latvia

  • LSM (Latvian Public Media)
  • Claire Murphy

Claire Murphy reports on the plight of Russian journalist Lilia Yapparova, who fled to Latvia after the Kremlin’s crackdown on independent media. Yapparova, along with hundreds of other Russian journalists, has found refuge in Latvia, a country that offers crucial support through organizations like Media Hub Riga.

Read more

How AI Is Helping Journalists Track Wartime Casualties

  • Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN)
  • Katya Bonch-Osmolovskaya

Exiled Russian media site IStories has shared with GIJN how it built an AI-powered database of Russian military war dead and missing, and why it was worth creating. Katya Bonch-Osmolovskaya, editor of IStories’ data department, explains how the AI was trained, what kind of data Charon can collect, and why journalists should start learning to work with neural networks.

Read more

‘It’s Much More Dangerous Today Than It Was Under Perestroika’

  • Le Monde
  • Benjamin Quénelle

Benjamin Quénelle reports about the efforts of Russian journalists in exile who are discreetly training young reporters still living under the country’s oppressive media landscape. Despite the risks, these aspiring journalists are determined to pursue fair and honest reporting, even as Russia ranks 162nd globally for press freedom.

Read more

A Visit to a Russian Exile Media Outlet

  • Wiener Zeitung
  • Dennis Miskić

Since March 2022, The Moscow Times has had to operate in exile from Amsterdam. Like dozens of other exile media outlets, it endures impossible conditions and high security risks to be a beacon of hope. A visit to the newsroom.

Read more [DE]

A New Digital Archive to Preserve an Investigative Legacy

  • LatAm Journalism Review
  • André Duchiade

For more than a quarter century, elPeriódico was Guatemala’s boldest daily newspaper. Then, citing persecution and political and economic pressures, in May 2023, the newspaper announced it was shutting its doors. Although the closure of elPeriódico is final, the outlet’s contributions to history are now once again accessible.

Read more

Three Years into The War, Russia’s Exiled Opposition in Crisis

  • Meduza
  • Lilia Yapparova

Lilia Yapparova explores the crisis within Russia’s exiled opposition three years into the war, as internal divisions and the death of Alexey Navalny leave many anti-war Russians feeling disillusioned and unrepresented. She examines the movement’s fragmentation, the challenges faced by its leaders in exile, and the uncertain future of Russia’s pro-democracy forces.

Read more

Providing a Safe Space for Myanmar’s Embattled Journalists

  • Global Voices
  • Mong Palatino

Global Voices interviewed over email Kay, Exile Hub’s communications officer, who was among those who attended the 2024 Global Voices citizen media summit in Nepal. She summed up what Exile Hub is doing to help empower critical voices in Myanmar.

Read more

Haitian Journalists in Exile

  • LatAm Journalism Review (LJR)
  • César López Linares

In Haiti, journalism is a high-risk profession. Many Haitian journalists have chosen exile in the face of the social, political, economic and security crisis that affects their country. Three journalists who left Haiti to save their lives  explained to LatAm Journalism Review (LJR) what it means to be a Haitian journalist in exile.

Read more

Russia Labels Komi Daily a “Terrorist Organization”

  • The Kyiv Independent
  • Tim Zadorozzhnny

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has designated the independent media outlet Komi Daily as a “terrorist organization”. This marks the first time the FSB has applied such a label to a media outlet. The Supreme Court finalized the designation in late December, intensifying Russia’s suppression of dissenting voices, particularly the independent media critical of the Kremlin.

Read more

Eleven Years in Exile: Behind the Scenes in Syria

  • BBC News
  • Lina Sinjab

Eleven years since she was forced to flee the country, BBC Middle East correspondent Lina Sinjab returns to Syria to be one of the first journalists for a western news network broadcasting from Damascus after the fall of the Assad regime.

Read more

The Power Plays of the Iranian Secret Service

  • NDR
  • Patrizia Schlosser, Julian Feldmann, Omid Rezaee et. al.

The couple Nasimeh and Amir have apparently fled from the Iranian secret service and built a new life for themselves in Belgium. They campaign against the regime in their home country and go on demonstrations. But in 2018, it emerges that their life in exile is a lie.

WATCH [DE]