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Russia is increasingly branding journalists as “terrorists.” In October 2025, the state labeled Dozhd TV’s editor-in-chief a terrorist; weeks later, two more exiled media figures joined a blacklist alongside ISIS and Navalny’s organization. They are not alone — at least 60 media workers now appear on Russia’s “Terrorist and Extremist” list.
Authorities in Russia are expanding their surveillance to monitor not just journalists but also the audiences of independent media. This growing crackdown intimidates citizens who access alternative news and complicates efforts by exiled outlets to reach people inside the country, highlighting new risks for both readers and reporters.
Afghan journalists and media workers in Pakistan live in fear of arrest and deportation as authorities crack down on refugees. Many fled Taliban rule, and rights groups warn that forced returns could put them at serious risk of persecution, highlighting the precarious situation of exiled journalists in the region.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warns of Russia’s growing use of in absentia convictions against exiled Russian journalists and foreign media professionals. This repressive legal tactic is used to intimidate journalists, block their return to Russia and pressure their relatives, and has become commonplace since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Defending trustworthy news means knowing how to counter the propaganda tactics that oppose reliable reporting to further ideological goals. To this end, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has published a new report compiling all the content from The Propaganda Monitor, a website dedicated to exposing the way propaganda and disinformation operate so they can be tackled.
A new Russian law – which came into effect in September – punishes online searches for what the government labels ‘extremist content’. But while the Kremlin has published a list of more than 5,000 banned websites, there’s still little clarity surrounding the law’s implementation and what makes the designated content ‘extremist’.
A new report highlights how Taliban censorship, arrests, and intimidation severely threaten Afghan journalists working inside the country. Despite growing risks, many continue reporting under fear and secrecy. Journalists warn that without strong international support, independent voices in Afghanistan may soon be silenced.
Last summer, Russian authorities began throttling YouTube playback speeds, rendering the popular video platform practically unusable. This has pushed many Russians to change their media consumption habits. Meduza analyzes the current and potential consequences of the Kremlin’s ongoing campaign against YouTube.
After seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban moved swiftly to impose a stifling control over Afghan society. The former constitution and legal framework were both suspended pending a “review” of their compatibility with sharia law. In their place, the Taliban have gradually installed a complex web of new laws and policies, many dictated directly by the group’s elusive supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzadah.
Alesya Sokolova on how the relatively low popularity of independent media may be influenced not only by censorship but also by the choice of topics and the tone of content. While censorship remains the biggest obstacle, audience fatigue with negativity and a narrow thematic focus may also push even opposition-minded readers away.
Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, Afghanistan’s media landscape has undergone drastic changes, marked by severe restrictions on press freedom. Journalists face constant threats, censorship, and violence, especially when covering topics like women’s rights, human rights, and the actions of the Afghan government.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization (AJSO) has published its findings from a survey in which 310 Afghan journalists, both in Afghanistan and in exile, participated. The new report mainly focuses on the needs of journalists in capacity building.
When Russia imposed harsh laws on reporters covering its invasion of Ukraine, dozens fled. But physical distance doesn’t always keep exiled journalists safe. The American journalist Liam Scott met some of them in Berlin. Watch his full video report on security for Russian journalists in exile here.