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Despite being forced into exile in 2018, dissident blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh continues to write about social justice and human rights issues concerning Vietnam. More popularly known as Me Nam or “Mother Mushroom,” she gained recognition for her posts on environmental pollution and police abuse.
Like much of Belarus’s independent media sector, Hrodna.life is struggling for sustainability in exile. Forced to relocate to the EU, the team lost not only the advertising market but also direct contact with the audience it serves. They saved themselves from prison but lost the opportunity to breathe the same air as their readers – and this is crucial for local media like theirs.
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.
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.
Although physical attacks against journalists are the most visible violations of press freedom, economic pressure is also a major, more insidious problem. The economic indicator on the RSF World Press Freedom Index now stands at an unprecedented, critical low as its decline continued in 2025. As a result, the global state of press freedom is now classified as a “difficult situation” for the first time in the history of the Index.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Turkish journalist Cevheri Güven, living in Germany, continues to face constant threats to his life despite seeking asylum. Under 24/7 police protection, he must inform authorities whenever he leaves home. He also wears a security bracelet, designed to look like a watch, that allows him to send an alert if he faces danger.
Iryna Khalip is a prominent Belarusian journalist who has spent her career exposing corruption and human rights abuses, often at great personal risk. Her investigative reporting on political and social issues in Belarus has made her a target of state persecution. Since going into exile in 2020, Khalip has continued her reporting for the Latvia-based Novaya Gazeta Europe.
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.
This briefing paper “Navigating Instability” outlines an initial framework for responding to the challenges faced by exiled media, based on over 20 years of IMS support. With input from exiled media leaders, IMS’ Exiled Media Working Group has identified five key phases of transition and evolution that media in exile experience.
In this article by Diana Shahbazyan, Belarusian journalists in exile share their struggles to continue their work amidst oppression, censorship, and financial uncertainty. With more than 30 journalists imprisoned and media outlets branded ‘extremist,’ these exiled professionals are determined to keep informing the world, even as they face increasing risks and challenges.
Report for the World and Columbia University (SIPA) have launched The Path to Impact: Insights from Global Majority Newsrooms, an impact report highlighting the global impact of local journalism in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America.
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.
This report “2024: Confronting Political Pressure, Disinformation, and the Erosion of Media Independence” identifies serious threats, including the digital surveillance of journalists and its risks to source confidentiality, the transnational repression of journalists—particularly from Russia and Belarus—and the trend of media capture by governments in some countries.
The Justice for Journalists Foundation (JFJ) released a report examining the key trends and developments in the media landscape of 12 post-Soviet states (excluding the Baltic States) over the past eight years. The report, compiled in collaboration with local partners, highlights significant changes and challenges faced by the media in these countries since 2017.