JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

If Trump shuts down RFE/RL, thousands of exiled journalists could lose their platform, and Russian-speaking audiences may lose a vital independent news source. RFE/RL’s reporting from hubs like Riga offers rare, high-risk journalism in local languages, countering Kremlin propaganda in ways few other outlets can.

This report explores tools, techniques, and legal strategies to erase digital footprints and create a new, lawful identity. Drawing on real-world cases, privacy software, and legal frameworks, it offers a practical guide for journalists, whistleblowers, and dissidents seeking to avoid surveillance.

LatAm Journalism Review (LJR) presents eight essential tools—some new, others well established—that are transforming investigative journalism. Used by leading reporters, these tools help uncover corruption networks, analyze data trends, and tell complex, impactful stories with greater precision.

In this article, Maxim Alyukov explores the persistent gap between what journalists deem newsworthy and what audiences actually care about. Drawing on global research and the challenges facing Russian independent media in exile, he argues that understanding public perceptions of relevance is essential to staying connected, credible, and impactful under repression.

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.

This guide presents a practical template that helps anyone in newsrooms come up with promising ideas and turn them into strategic solutions, breaking through traditional hierarchical barriers. In doing so, it can reshape organisational culture, creating an environment where each staff feels valued, heard, and empowered to contribute to meaningful innovation.

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.

In this piece, Ksenia Turkuva, an exiled journalist, writes about her journey through Russia’s shrinking media landscape, reflecting on her early career and the harsh realities of censorship. She contrasts her experiences with the eerie parallels she now sees in America, warning of the creeping fear and rhetoric that echoes the tactics of repression she once knew in Russia.

Next-IJ is empowering European journalists, newsrooms, and media outlets with a combination of advanced tools (including artificial intelligence), data, training, legal and ethical guidance, and hands-on investigation opportunities to uncover and investigate corruption and organised and financial crime in multilateral cooperation and partnerships.

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.

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.

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.

In this article, Izabella Tabarovsky explores how Putin’s war in Ukraine depends on silencing independent media. She examines the struggles of Russian journalists in exile, who, despite immense challenges, are now producing groundbreaking reports and creatively circumventing censorship.

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.

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.

The Global Directory of Journalist Safety Trainers & Advisors is a searchable database of security professionals with experience and expertise in journalist safety. It has been created to provide the ACOS Alliance community with direct access to safety trainers and advisors around the world, and to help them connect with those who meet specific geographic and thematic safety needs.

In this interview, investigative journalist Roman Anin, founder of IStories, discusses his work in exile, the risks faced by his team, and the challenges of reporting on corruption and the war in Ukraine. Despite threats, he remains committed to documenting crimes and holding powerful figures accountable.

In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where news reporting has been transformed from a process of awakening and raising awareness—crucial for the development of critical knowledge in society—into a dreary, unbearable exercise in censorship and propaganda, the only hope for citizens lies in social networks and media outlets that reject the Taliban’s order and operate from outside the country.