JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

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.

The rollback of press freedom programs, as well as the loss of some funding from European nations refocused on security closer to home, has left exiled media outlets from Myanmar, Belarus, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and other countries that lack a free press facing the same question: When decades-long donors pull out, what comes next?

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.

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.

Work in exile does not mean a happy end  –  it makes inequalities deeper. Furthermore, two-thirds of journalists in exile leave the profession, while working in editorial offices tend to be more sustainable. Researcher and Professor at Salzburg University, Hanan Badr, discusses the collective experience of journalists in exile.

The situation for independent media is not getting any easier, and the grant crisis of 2025 has shown just how vulnerable journalists are, especially those working in exile. But many newsrooms are developing innovative ideas to replace some of this lost funding and even developing news products aimed at different audiences in the diaspora or elsewhere.

Most exile journalism documents symptoms. We’re investigating root causes: how displacement has become central to how power operates in the 21st century, how the same networks that enable resistance also enable surveillance, and why sanctuary is shrinking even as exile accelerates.

Article on how intergovernmental organisations address the challenges faced by journalists in exile, highlighting threats like transnational repression, gaps in legal protection, and emerging support mechanisms. The United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, adopted in 2012, does not even mention journalists in exile.

The removal from the air of a second American comedian since President Donald Trump was elected in the United States should send chills down the spine of every journalist who worked in Moscow in the early 2000s. That was how President Vladimir Putin began consolidating his power — by attacking mainstream media, starting with television and, notably, TV comedians.

Having previously exposed abuses such as illegal mining and drug trafficking as a reporter for El Universal, Joseph Poliszuk has since led a trailblazing and courageous team as co-founder of Venezuela’s pioneering investigative journalism outlet Armando.info.

In contexts of exile and censorship, several independent media outlets have turned to creating original products — leveraging their brand identity, analytical expertise, or connection to specific audiences.

In 2018, the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) ushered in an era of reform, freeing exiled media and releasing imprisoned journalists. Yet the hope that these measures promised a renaissance for journalism was short-lived. Since the outbreak of conflict in Tigray in 2020, the environment has sharply deteriorated.

How the “Journalists in Exile” program strengthens press freedom: Nazeeha Saeed explains why independent journalism should not be taken for granted. Nazeeha Saeed has lived in exile since 2016—first in Paris, now in Berlin. In her home country of Bahrain, she could no longer work as a journalist.

In today’s independent media ecosystem, membership programs — distinct from traditional “subscriptions” — and grassroots fundraising campaigns are becoming increasingly relevant, particularly for nonprofit outlets. The logic behind these models is simple but powerful: if you cultivate a loyal, engaged, and appreciative community, you can invite them to support your work financially.

For fourteen years, the organization operated in secrecy and exile. Team members risked their lives daily, working under bombardment and surveillance, and facing the constant threat of arrest. Three colleagues remain forcibly disappeared to this day — their absence a painful reminder of the price paid for pursuing truth under the former regime.

With the announcement of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel (one both governments pledged to uphold conditionally, contingent on the other’s restraint), speculation has begun to shift from whether the conflict would escalate into full-scale regional war to whether this pause might create space for diplomacy, reconstruction, or even domestic reform in Iran.

In a new study from DW Akademie and IPLEX, Central American women journalists in exile explain the challenges they face – and their resilience. Being a journalist in Central America is challenging enough, but the difficulties facing a journalist in exile can be even greater. For women journalists in exile in Central America, their work can be overwhelming.

Exile Hub is one of Global Voices’ partners in Southeast Asia, emerging in response to the 2021 coup in Myanmar. In this press statement by Exile Hub, the organization underscores the growing importance of press freedom in Myanmar, highlighting the ongoing persecution of journalists who continue to fight for truth and justice despite the oppressive conditions and their forced exile.