JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

At the start of the Syrian civil war, citizen journalist Rami Jarrah picked up a camera to document Assad government atrocities. He says, “We’ve been given our country back, and we have the opportunity now to build it.”

Lina Chawaf, founder of Radio Rozana, reflects on Syria’s uncertain future after Assad’s fall. While celebrating his ousting, she voices concerns about the new Islamist regime’s media stance. Her team continues reporting despite risks, navigating a volatile landscape for independent journalism.

Reyhana Masters and Laura Vidal examine how this global scourge is impacting the African and Latin America/Caribbean regions, the specific threat landscape for women journalists, and how those forced to flee can be better supported.

The Media & Journalism Research Center has published a study on Media Regulation, Government and Policy in Russia. It explains the core principles of media regulation in Russia and the various forms of censorship that the Russian political system has introduced and refined over the past decades, profiles several key influencers in the Russian media policy and provides context on the country’s media policy.

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.

Research by the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC) identified four key elements that lead to media capture as part of a matrix designed to study the phenomenon. These elements include control of media regulation, control of public media, use of state funds as a means of media control, and acquisition of private media outlets by businesses linked to the government.

“Masters of Manipulation” is an in-depth analysis of the complex strategies used by authoritarian governments to control the media and public perception. This publication brings together the expertise of leading academics and journalists from both countries, Russia and Turkey.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the Russian regime has targeted journalists on the frontlines with deliberate attacks, leading to numerous deaths and injuries among women reporters. This campaign of terror aims to suppress independent reporting and obscure the realities of the conflict.

Have you ever struggled to find a tool that does exactly what you need? You are not alone. More than 80 percent of open source researchers that participated in two Bellingcat surveys indicated that finding the right tools can be challenging. This is where Bellingcat’s new Online Investigations Toolkit comes in.

This report challenges the claims that there is no civil society to speak of inside the Russian Federation and that most of its activists are now in exile. A significant number of independent and democratically oriented initiatives and organizations continue to operate throughout the country to address societal issues through civic engagement. These should be acknowledged.

In “Navigating Digital Sovereignty: A Comparative Analysis of Internet Regulation in Russia and China,” the researchers delve into the intricate web of policies and technologies that define how two global powers control and manage their digital landscapes. This exploration sheds light on the Sovereign Internet Law of Russia and the Great Firewall of China, two landmark strategies aimed at asserting digital sovereignty.

Ahmet Dönmez, a Turkish journalist living in exile in Sweden, said in an interview with the Journalisten news website that he left the country for the United States some two years after surviving a brutal attack in Stockholm. Dönmez had narrowly escaped death after being severely beaten in a suburb of Stockholm in March 2022.

FRF Think Tank presents a policy brief addressing the situation of Russian citizens seeking protection in the EU, set against the backdrop of a severely deteriorating human rights situation in Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Women Press Freedom identifies transnational repression as a significant threat to journalists who have fled authoritarian regimes, highlighting the increased use of tactics like surveillance, harassment, and violence to silence dissent beyond national borders. According to the report, 50% of exiled women journalists were targeted through transnational repression reside in the EU.

A third of the victims of Russia’s “foreign agents” law are independent media, which makes them the primary target of this legislation — and highlights their systematic legal persecution. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has analysed the Ministry of Justice’s blacklists of “foreign agents” and “undesirable organisations” – which are used as tools of censorship – and condemns the stigmatisation of independent media as a fifth column.

Yavuz Baydar is an award-winning journalist, editor and analyst in Turkish and international media. Since the failed Turkish coup d’etat in 2016 Yavuz Baydar has had to live and work in exile. In conversation with Diana Huth, Yavuz Baydar analyzes the geopolitical implications of the 2024 elections and calls for greater support for exile journalism.

The investigative beat has never been an easy one in Latin America. From reporting under authoritarian regimes to confronting significant security risks in a region that faces the added challenge of impunity, and from the difficulties of reporting amidst persistent financial struggles to handling the backlash that comes with exposing acts of corruption — the circumstances facing reporters have long been challenging.