Fleeing a country is, perhaps, one of the last decisions that independent journalists want to make. It implies renouncing the one thing that makes their reporting truly valuable: being on the ground. But for many, witnessing events as they unfold —and telling the world about them— represents a great danger to their lives. Under these circumstances, there’s only one option. They have to leave.
If reporters choose to continue doing journalism in exile, they soon discover that it’s not an easy task. Carlos Fernando Chamorro —director of CONFIDENCIAL, a Nicaraguan exiled media outlet based in Costa Rica— described this complex situation in May 2024, while accepting the Golden Pen of Freedom, an award extended by the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
“In Nicaragua, there are no longer foreign correspondents or independent sources to whom facts, data or analysis can be attributed. All news sources, without exception, request anonymity as a condition to inform or give their opinion to the press,” said Chamorro in his speech.
Meduza, the largest Russian-speaking media organization to date, understands CONFIDENCIAL’s context very well. “We are labeled as foreign agents and as an undesirable organization in Russia. It is legally forbidden to do anything with us. It is forbidden to donate, to post our links on social networks, or to give interviews to Meduza,” said Ivan Kolpakov, its editor-in-chief, in the second episode of the Exiled Media Podcast.
Although each country is different, the criminalization of freedom of the press, the silencing of journalists and sources, and the lack of freedom of opinion are part of a “script” that authoritarian governments follow to demolish the rule of law. Despite this hostile environment, exiled media organizations choose to inform their audiences wherever they are, as they consider themselves the last reserve of freedom under totalitarian regimes.
After fleeing their home countries, independent media faces a new reality. When there’s no end in sight to the political harassment that forced these organizations to leave, exile becomes a permanent status. This situation creates immense challenges for journalism. Carlos F. Chamorro, from CONFIDENCIAL, mentioned some of them in his acceptance speech:
- Preserving security, whether physical or digital, for journalists and sources who are actively at risk under a police state.
- Raising standards of verification and corroborating anonymous sources to continue publishing reliable information.
- Continuing to innovate in digital platforms to strengthen the relationship with audiences who are in the country, and with those who have left.
- Promoting collaborative journalism and transnational investigations with regional and international newsrooms.
- Accomplishing financial sustainability while in exile by looking at new revenue options (donations, memberships, programmatic advertising, grants, among other alternatives).
While these are not the only challenges, they are the most common to exiled media outlets. The first two that Chamorro mentioned in his speech also pose ethical questions raised by Matthew Kasper, publisher of Meydan TV, an Azerbaijani exiled media outlet based in Germany, in the second episode of the Exiled Media Podcast:
- How to guarantee the security of those who are on the ground?
- How to verify information when you are not witnessing an event?
Regarding the first question, Ivan Kolpakov explained in the Exiled Media Podcast that guaranteeing the security of journalists and sources on the ground is an enormous responsibility. He added that there’s a discussion on whether it is possible to have a relationship with people who are on the ground, as they can be detained, arrested, and/or tortured at any moment, while Meduza’s team is in safety, elsewhere.
“But on the other hand, there are a lot of people on the ground. And they are adult people who understand the consequences very clearly (…) It’s really dangerous. In Russia, you can go to prison for up to 10 to 15 years for antiwar activities, so for many of them doing journalism is a way out of this nightmare,” he claims.
Both Kolpakov, from Meduza, and Carlos Fernando, from CONFIDENCIAL, say that to support journalists and sources who are still on the ground, their teams have developed secure channels and sophisticated protocols. These strategies are not 100% bulletproof, but it’s the only resource they have to work in such hostile conditions.
When it comes to reporting from afar, the challenge is also significant. However, the task is not impossible thanks to the network of reporters and sources who are still in the country. “We use our freelancers as so-called proxy reporters. They do their part on the ground. They go and see something specific from, say a building, that needs to be described. They talk to people and get information. They are not making the story entirely, but a very important part of it,” Kolpakov explains.
In his speech, Carlos Fernando Chamorro notes that this new reality requires a change of paradigms for philanthropic foundations and international aid agencies that support independent journalism. “It becomes necessary to recognize that the survival of the press in exile, not only in Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela, but also in Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and other countries, is a democratic imperative that requires long-term support strategies,” he warns.
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