JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

A new Human Rights Myanmar report, released in May in partnership with the IPCM, warns that major digital platforms failed to protect Myanmar’s independent media during the junta’s 2025-26 elections, enabling censorship, threats, and financial exclusion against exile-based journalism. It describes the polls as a “sham election”.

Exile is no guarantee of safety for journalists fleeing authoritarian regimes. Experts and a UN Special Rapporteur warn that states increasingly misuse Interpol mechanisms — including Red Notices and Travel Document Alerts — to harass, restrict, and pressure regime critics abroad, even those granted asylum. Social media platforms, they add, offer far too little protection.

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.

Press freedom experts and a UN special rapporteur have warned that authoritarian governments continue to misuse Interpol mechanisms to target journalists living in exile, despite reforms aimed at preventing politically motivated cases. Several experts point to alleged abuses of Interpol mechanisms, particularly Red Notices and travel document alerts, which they said can severely restrict journalists’ movement and daily lives.

Freedom for Eurasia strongly condemns the defamation lawsuit brought by Gadzhi Gadzhiev against Natalia Sadykova before the courts of Ukraine — the country where Sadykova lives in exile and where her husband was assassinated.

Media makers forced into exile share candid insights on continuing independent work from abroad in this ASC MediaRisk panel discussion. Contributors reflect on safety challenges, digital threats, audience engagement and sustaining journalistic identity while displaced. Their perspectives highlight resilience and the complex realities of reporting beyond borders.

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.

Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) has confirmed in its 2025 activity report that it conducted overseas surveillance and disruption targeting opponents living abroad – including dissidents, exiled journalists and independent media outlets — framing these as national security measures despite concerns about intimidation, monitoring and interference in host countries.

The Cuban government has blocked independent news outlet El Toque, further shrinking information space for citizens already cut off from uncensored reporting. The move highlights ongoing efforts by authorities to suppress critical journalism, deepen digital censorship, and limit access to diverse sources – complicating efforts by exiled and independent Cuban journalists to reach audiences.

As Belarus prepares for another presidential election under President Lukashenko, opposition leaders and activists – including those in exile – are divided over whether engaging in dialogue with the regime can advance change. While some see negotiation as tactical, others warn it legitimizes repression and sidelines independent and exiled voices pushing for democratic reform.

In Costa Rica’s capital San José, a hidden TV station called Nicaragua Actual is broadcasting news aimed at audiences inside Nicaragua, where independent reporting is widely suppressed. Operating discreetly from exile, its team produces and distributes content to counter state censorship and provide alternative information to people facing media repression at home.

This Reuters Institute report shows how Cuban journalists based abroad continue covering their homeland despite strict censorship and information blackouts. Through remote sourcing, social media, clandestine networks and verification techniques, exiled reporters work to pierce state control and deliver news to audiences inside and outside Cuba, revealing both innovation and the obstacles they face.

An Interpol data leak, examined by Disclose and BBC, reveals how repressive regimes misuse the organization to pursue dissidents, journalists and activists living abroad. The investigation shows fabricated red notices, politicized arrest requests and cross‑border pressure that put independent voices and exiled media practitioners at risk.

A new survey by jinn is examining how exiled media outlets are adapting their business models and monetization strategies amid recent funding challenges. Founders and managers of displaced newsrooms are invited to share their experiences.

Exiled Journalist Li Bai’an writes about the inner conflict of journalists in China, who are forced to ignore the truth under state pressure but still remember why they became journalists. She urges them to recognize that their conscience is not gone, only suppressed by fear under Xi Jinping’s rule.

Transnational repression (TNR), the cross-border targeting, intimidation, and harassment of journalists and human rights defenders, is increasingly undermining press freedom and human rights in Europe and beyond. Journalists in exile often remain subjects of sustained threats, surveillance, cyber-attacks, psychological pressure, and harassment long after reaching presumed safety.

This report introduces the previously unknown Spyware ResidentBat used by the Belarussian secret service KGB. It targets Android phones and is installed through physical device access. Broad application permissions and an accessibility service allow the app access to a wide range of data, spanning phone calls, SMS, encrypted messenger chats and files on the phone.

The EU’s new return policy risks jeopardising the lives of vulnerable journalists and human rights defenders living in exile. As such, it undermines the very principles of press freedom and human rights it aims to uphold and the safe haven the EU seeks to provide for journalists from all over the world threatened for reporting on the truth. ECPMF and undersigning organisations urge the EU to immediately reconsider these adverse effects and prioritise the protection of those who have already fled persecution.