JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

How does the Kremlin infiltrate Europe’s information sphere to sway elections and shape public opinion? Where did fugitive Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek vanish to? Why are many of China’s cities sinking?

Without exiled media, you probably wouldn’t know.

Exiled media have become vital pillars of the global information ecosystem – reporting from outside their countries but remaining deeply connected to them. They uncover corruption and repression where foreign correspondents can’t go, provide rare insight into closed regimes, and serve as indispensable partners in cross-border investigations. Their work keeps the lights on in places that would otherwise be information blackouts – and in doing so, they help safeguard democracies far beyond their own borders.

We have outlined four ways in which exiled media contribute to international reporting, drawing on examples of how they uncover threats from authoritarian regimes, collaborate in cross-border investigations, deliver independent information from conflict zones, and decode the early signs of democratic decline.

Together, these examples show how journalism in exile not only preserves truth where it is under attack but also reinforces global transparency and accountability.

1. EXILED MEDIA HELP UNCOVER THREATS BY AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES

Authoritarian regimes increasingly target democracies through hybrid threats such as election interference, disinformation campaigns, and cyber or drone attacks on critical infrastructure. Exiled journalists from these countries play a vital role in uncovering these tactics. From abroad, they investigate state-sponsored operations, expose propaganda networks, and report on covert activities their governments try to hide.

INSIDE RUSSIA’S GLOBAL PROPAGANDA MACHINE

The Kremlin is successfully spreading its narratives across Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. In several regions like Africa and Latin America, Russian state-linked media exploits fragile media systems and leverages narratives of sovereignty and resistance to Western influence. These frames resonate in places where memories of colonial intervention and external power dynamics remain part of public debate.

Meanwhile in Europe, outlets like Russia Today and Sputnik continue to circulate anti-EU messaging despite sanctions. The Russian exiled media outlet The Insider, in collaboration with the German publication Der Spiegel, analyzed documents from the Russian foreign intelligence service that outlined strategies for disinformation campaigns against the West. As a result, they were able to identify more than 100 fake websites and accounts.

Another joint investigation by The Insider and Der Spiegel uncovered how Russia’s military intelligence agency spent years financing terrorist groups in Afghanistan to target U.S. and coalition forces. The reporters confirmed the existence of the program and identified GRU officers responsible for coordinating it. The Russian intelligence service used a gemstone trading company as a front to run a network of Afghan couriers who delivered money to Taliban fighters and other militant groups. After completing their missions, the couriers were provided with Russian documents and granted asylum in Russia.

THE SCHEMES OF THE IRANIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

Iranian exiled journalist Omid Rezaee, as part of a team at STRG_F, contributed to the documentary series “Agents of Fear,” which investigated Iran’s intelligence operations in Germany and Europe. The series delves into the identities and motivations of those who spy for the Iranian regime and examines the broader implications of these activities. STRG_F investigated a range of cases, including a couple accused of planning a bomb attack, a Hells Angels leader allegedly paid by the Iranian intelligence service, and interviews with individuals living in Germany who are being targeted and harassed by the regime’s operatives.

2. EXILED MEDIA SERVE AS A PARTNER FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

Exiled media have become vital partners in global investigations. They provide access to hard-to-reach information from inside authoritarian regimes, making it possible to expose human rights abuses, war crimes, and systemic corruption. These partnerships are mutually beneficial: international outlets gain trusted local insight and verified information, while both sides expand their reach and impact by connecting across borders and audiences.

SYRIA’S STOLEN CHILDREN

Under Bashar al-Assad’s regime, children were secretly taken from imprisoned dissidents and placed in state-run orphanages as a way to pressure or punish their families. Exiled Syrian journalists from Al Jumhuriya and SIRAJ, working alongside six international media outlets, uncovered this hidden practice and revealed evidence of missing or falsified records, suggesting the true number of disappeared children is much higher than officially reported. Many of these children were falsely registered as abandoned or given new identities, making them nearly impossible to locate. To this day, families continue to search for at least 3,700 missing children.

GROUND TRUTHS: A COLLABORATIVE SPECIAL REPORT ON SOIL IN ASIA

The Ground Truths project is a cross-border investigation into soil degradation across Asia and its impacts on agriculture, health, and the environment. The project was coordinated by Earth Journalism Network with contributions from regional media such as Project Multatuli and Myaelatt Athan, and Initium Media, an exiled Chinese-language outlet now based in Singapore, which reported on land subsidence in China and its links to environmental mismanagement. Their report highlights how cities like Tianjin, Beijing, and Shanghai are sinking due to excessive groundwater extraction, with Tianjin experiencing the highest rate, as over 89% of its area is subsiding more than 3mm annually, leading to damage to buildings, infrastructure, and increasing flood risk.

THE WAR IN UKRAINE HAS A SHOCKING NEW WEAPON

Since the invasion, both Russia and Ukraine have turned to recruiting children for sabotage and espionage, using chats on Telegram, video games, and social media to lure them with money or blackmail. This form of hybrid warfare exploits minors for risky one-off missions, often without them knowing who they’re working for. The information was uncovered and reported by journalist Lilia Yapparova of exiled Russian outlet Meduza in her guest essay for the New York Times. In one case, Russian intelligence trained a Ukrainian teenager to use encrypted communications and a timed fuse before sending him to carry out an arson attack on an IKEA store in Lithuania. The result is a growing number of arrests, injuries, and ruined lives among children on both sides of the war.

THE SECRET RUSSIAN LIFE OF EUROPE’S MOST NOTORIOUS FUGITIVE-TURNED-SPY

A collaboration with the exiled Russian media outlet The Insider made it possible to locate fugitive Jan Marsalek, the former Wirecard COO wanted for financial crimes. In partnership with Germany’s Der Spiegel, they uncovered that Marsalek is living openly in Moscow under FSB protection, having altered his appearance through cosmetic surgery. Initially recruited by the GRU, he now works closely with the FSB and reportedly travels to occupied Ukraine to participate in “combat missions” alongside Russian special forces.

BELARUS COOPERATING WITH GERMAN RIGHT-WING POLITICIAN

The independent exiled Belarusian outlet Reform.news revealed that German AfD politician Jörg Dornau employed political prisoners as cheap labor on his large onion farm in Belarus, paying them only around five Euros per day. The farm, which Dornau co-founded in 2020 with apparent support from Belarusian authorities, allegedly had a formal agreement with a nearby prison, allowing inmates, including one jailed for liking a post on social media, to work under harsh conditions.

3. EXILED MEDIA OFFER INDEPENDENT INFORMATION IN CONFLICT ZONES

In conflict zones, it is becoming harder and more dangerous for journalists to report on the ground. On top of that, the information coming from authoritarian regimes is often unreliable, heavily filtered, or manipulated to serve those in power. In contrast, independent exiled media offer a fact-based lens with access to sources on the ground. Drawing on trusted local networks, and a deep understanding of their home countries, they are uniquely positioned to deliver credible, independent reporting from conflict zones.

REPORTING THROUGH THE BLACKOUT IN AFGHANISTAN

After the Taliban took power in 2021, independent journalism has been pushed to the brink in Afghanistan. Sweeping restrictions, strict censorship, and even nationwide internet blackouts have silenced many local voices. During a 48-hour shutdown, the regime plunged the country into an information vacuum. Writing for Time, Zahra Nader, editor-in-chief of the exiled outlet Zan Times, explains how the blackout unfolded and what it meant for ordinary Afghans. Her colleague Khadija Haidary reports in The Guardian on the shutdown across 12 provinces, which cut off tens of thousands of women and girls from online education. Drawing on firsthand accounts, her reporting highlights the deepening repression and the essential role of exiled media in documenting life under Taliban rule. As families are forced to switch from affordable home Wi-Fi to costly mobile data, many girls are not just losing access to school but also to community, opportunity, and hope.

COVERING GAZA’S STORY FROM AFAR

With international media banned from entering Gaza and hundreds of local journalists killed or displaced, exiled Palestinian reporters have become vital to sustaining coverage of the war. In a report by the Reuters Institute, exiled Palestinian journalists Plestia Alaqad and Nagham Mohanna describe how they rely on trusted colleagues in Gaza to verify stories and amplify voices from a territory cut off from the world. For both journalists, their work serves not only to inform but also to acknowledge and process their community’s pain, grief, and resilience. “Their stories are my story, and their pain is my pain,” said Alaqad, who, like Mohanna, feels a responsibility to keep reporting even while separated from her home. Both continue to apply journalistic methods from exile, using remote interviews, source verification, and ongoing collaboration with contacts in Gaza to ensure their reporting remains accurate and grounded in current realities.

Exiled Palestinian journalist Mohammed R. Mhawish, writing for The New Yorker, explains Gaza’s internal political collapse and criticizes both local leadership and foreign-imposed solutions, sharing his perspective by highlighting how Hamas negotiated for basic conditions that existed before the war and how ordinary Gazans are now demanding self-determined leadership.

TRACKING WAR CASUALTIES AND MONITORING REPRESSION IN RUSSIA

As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its third year, exiled media outlets continue to provide critical insights into the human cost of the conflict and the state’s efforts to suppress dissent.

Independent Russian outlet Mediazona, in collaboration with the BBC’s Russian service and Meduza, has verified over 133,000 Russian military deaths since the war’s onset. Their investigations utilize publicly available sources, including social media posts by relatives, local media reports, and statements from regional authorities. According to exiled outlet iStories, at least one in four mobilized soldiers from Russia’s Tomsk region was killed, wounded, or went missing, with 11 percent confirmed dead and one in five fighters under the age of 25.

OVD-Info, an exiled Russian human rights and media organization, has been instrumental in documenting politically motivated prosecutions within Russia. Their comprehensive database tracks cases of individuals charged under laws such as Article 280.4 (“calls for actions against Russia’s security”) and Article 354.1 (“disrespectful information about military glory days”). This meticulous monitoring provides critical insights into the state’s efforts to suppress dissent and control public discourse.

International media and human rights organizations increasingly draw on this reporting. The German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk has cited investigations by Mediazona, iStories, and OVD-Info in their coverage of Russia’s mobilization patterns. Reuters referred to OVD-Info data when reporting on the prosecution of Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of the independent election-monitoring group Golos, and Human Rights Watch has used OVD-Info’s findings to document the rise in politically motivated prosecutions and the shrinking space for civic activism in Russia.

SHEDDING LIGHT ON HIDDEN SUFFERING IN MYANMAR

Exiled media continue to provide critical access to information in Myanmar, where the military junta tightly controls news and censors independent reporting. After Donald Trump cut funding to US-backed broadcasters like Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, the flow of reliable information sharply declined.

Despite this loss, independent exiled Myanmar outlets such as The Irrawaddy, Mizzima, and Myaelatt Athan continue to operate under extreme conditions, broadcasting from bunkers using shortwave radio and sharing news via USB drives and Bluetooth. Their reporting has uncovered the scale of suffering in places like Sagaing, including unretrieved bodies, collapsing healthcare, and the absence of aid after the country’s deadliest earthquake in over a century.

INSIDE NICARAGUA’S POLITICAL AND SOCIAL TURMOIL

Exiled Nicaraguan journalist Wilfredo Miranda Aburto writes for Spanish media outlet El País, exposing the increasing brutality and authoritarianism of the Ortega-Murillo regime. He documents how they are purging former allies like Sandinista commander Bayardo Arce to consolidate power and prepare for a dynastic succession. Even once-powerful figures are not spared, as shown by the dismantling of Nicaragua’s beloved professional baseball league and its replacement with a regime-controlled entity. Miranda also investigates the deadly rise in enforced disappearances, highlighting recent cases of political prisoners who died in custody after being tortured in secret prisons. Through detailed reporting and testimonies, he sheds light on a regime that rules through fear, silence, and violent repression.

4. EXILED MEDIA HELP DECODE AUTHORITARIAN TACTICS

When media freedom is under threat, the clearest warnings come from those who have lived through it. Exiled journalists have witnessed the early stages of authoritarianism and how repression takes root. As the U.S. shows signs of democratic backsliding, they detect echoes of the media crackdowns they experienced at home. By recognizing the patterns and language of authoritarianism, they function as an early warning system.

A New York Times opinion piece by two Russian journalists in exile does not just warn Americans about creeping authoritarianism, it names it. Decoding a vocabulary born under Putin’s regime, they describe patterns that may look disturbingly familiar to anyone watching U.S. politics right now. The result is a “glossary of authoritarianism”, a phrase book to help Americans name their new reality.

The temporary cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show reminded Russian journalists in exile of similar events in early 2000s Moscow, when Putin consolidated power by silencing mainstream media voices, including TV comedians. Andrei Soldatov’s guest contribution for The Moscow Times and Sam Breazeale’s article for Meduza both comment on the similarities between the temporary removal of the American comedian from U.S. airwaves and Vladimir Putin’s censorship measures in Russia.

In a piece for POLITICO Europe, Belarusian journalist Elena Vasilyeva reflects on how the space for dissent quietly disappears and how easily one adapts to shrinking freedoms. From tea and cookies in a detention van to quiet celebrations after a release, she captures how fear is normalized and how “lucky” outcomes begin to replace justice. Now based in Warsaw, Vasilyeva writes from exile, and her story is a warning to those in the U.S. and beyond who believe “it can’t happen here.”

Learn more about entire exiled media landscapes in our detailed Country Profiles.