Belarus
Country Profile – Context
CONTEXT
BELARUSIAN MEDIA IN EXILE SINCE 2020
Following the crackdown on the independent media sector in the second half of 2021, most independent media left Belarus. It is estimated that at least 42 active independent media currently operate from exile (see definition and criteria), with at least 400 media workers who fled the country after 2020. Most of the Belarusian media in exile have found their new homes in Poland and Lithuania, from where they continue to serve Belarusian audiences.
While some of the media left the country due to the political repression of 2020, most of the teams fled in the second half of 2021. This was related to three main reasons. First, due to the physical pressure on journalists and media at the end of 2020, when several media workers were put behind bars for covering protests. Second, the crackdown on the largest independent media TUT.by (now defunct), coupled with the detention of its employees, followed by the hijacking of the Ryanair flight with the journalist Raman Pratasevich on board, which not only demonstrated the capacities of the regime to prosecute journalists but also put aviation above Belarus on hold. Thirdly, a practice of recognizing independent media as publishing “extremist materials” or being “extremist formations” has also prompted relocation. Starting in 2021, this measure was used to criminalize the production and consumption of independent reporting in Belarus.
By July 2024, the number of “extremist materials” reached 4300, and in 2024 solely, seven new independent media operating from exile were added to the list of “extremist formations”, with at least three journalists (Hanna Liubakova, Yury Drakahrust, Pavel Marinich) sentenced to prison terms in absentia.
The independent media sector remains a powerful source of objective reporting against the backdrop of the growing capacities of state media and propaganda. Moreover, the Belarusian independent media are trusted and consumed by Belarusians inside the country, despite severe censorship of the media sector and criminalization of consumption of independent media content. In exile, the independent media have shown to outperform exiled media groups from other countries and created innovative and effective solutions to reach their audiences.
Against the backdrop of restricted access to information inside the country, some large media, such as Nasha Niva, produce investigative journalism by relying on internal sources and leaked data. Others, such as Zerkalo (launched by ex-TUT.by staff), often use anonymous interviews. In addition to the 42 independent exiled media, the sector is enriched by dozens of YouTube and TikTok projects (note: many are led by the independent media and branded differently to avoid extremist labels), as well as the TV channel Belsat (which serves Belarusian audiences but is legally a part of the Polish public broadcaster TVP).
Additionally, independent media in exile work with open sources and hacktivists, such as CyberPartisans, who obtain official documents from state databases. Independent outlets have no direct access to press meetings and contact with officials. All the exiled independent media are recognized as either publishing extremist materials or extremist formations.
While media seeking to maintain some form of independence in the country undergo harsh self-censorship, the Belarusian media in exile face other challenges. First, their relations with audiences inside the country suffer from stigmatization as “extremists” (media often try to mitigate this by regularly updating the formats and platforms they use to deliver content). Second, maintaining the media organization with donor support, vs. previous reliance on advertisement services sold to Belarusian businesses and other actors, requires the media to constantly search for new sources of funding, preserve workers (who leave the unprofitable profession), and train new staff for the administration of media organizations abroad. Personal challenges, including residency issues and threats to relatives in Belarus, put pressure on media workers’ mental health and create a major long-term challenge.