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Journalists forced into exile around the globe have not only grown in numbers in recent years — the time they live outside their countries of origin has also grown longer. 

For years, organizations that support journalists in exile used to provide assistance for a few months while the risk decreased. But the conditions of the press in some parts of the world have caused exiled journalists to remain out of their countries for years, sometimes indefinitely. 

This has led to the emergence of an entirely new form of doing journalism — one in which technology plays a crucial role, speakers said Sept. 18 during the panel “Exiled but not silenced: Technology and the global surge of displaced journalists” during the second day of the 27th International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ).

Carlos Lauría, executive director of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA); Polina Stretter, head of program development at JX Fund — European Fund for Journalism in Exile (Germany); José Zamora, regional director in the Americas of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ); and Sarah Zaaimi, communication manager of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), discussed how forced relocation is transforming journalism, the challenges media outlets in exile are facing, and how technology helps combat and adds to those challenges.

For the panelists, the change in recent years has been evident. Zaaimi said about 1,500 journalists from more than 60 countries were living in exile between 2021 and 2024. Zamora added that the CPJ’s assistance to journalists in exile increased 227% between 2020 and 2023. This form of support now accounts for most of CPJ’s assistance program, he said. 

For journalists working from another country, digital tools not only allow them to produce and publish news content, they also allow them to communicate with colleagues and sources and generate income, Stretter said.

“There are four broader tracks where technology plays a crucial role: it's access to information from exile, it's reaching out to audiences from exile, it's the whole big box of digital security, and it's about efficiency — and therefore cost efficiency — of newsroom operations,” she said.

But technology also presents challenges for journalists in exile. Away from their countries of origin, they become highly dependent on digital tools to continue doing journalism, Stretter said. Authoritarian governments use the same digital platforms journalists do to monitor and track them outside their countries’ borders. 

Stretter said her team found that some repressive governments have shut down digital media outlets run by journalists in exile through copyright claims filed with technology companies. It is difficult for journalists to appeal those decisions, she said, because those processes are often managed by AI.

Cyberbullying is another challenge, the panelists said. Zamora mentioned two Ecuadorian journalists in exile in Canada who, after beginning to monetize their digital outlet, received a massive wave of attacks from trolls from their home country.

Zaaimi said RSF is publishing a report next week about Chinese Communist Party propaganda targeting Chinese journalists living in the U.S.

“Technology can be liberating in terms of offering new economic sources,” Zaaimi said. “But then it can be very isolating technically, but also community-wise.”

Other challenges that technology poses for journalists in exile include digital shutdowns in their home countries and audiences who are afraid to consume their news because of possible political repercussions or do not know how to use tools such as VPNs to evade the shutdowns, Stretter said.

Mental care and collaboration

Many journalists in exile do not know how to use digital tools, and that pressure adds to the personal challenges of rebuilding a life in another country, Zaaimi said.

“It is very challenging while you are trying to make a life for yourself and your family abroad, probably in a country where you don't have support networks, you don't speak the language, and then you have to learn new skills to have a livelihood for yourself,” she said. “So it's very hard.”

Lauría said IAPA has a partnership with Vita Activa, an organization that supports journalists and activists who face trauma, digital violence or crises. The partnership has helped provide crisis intervention, digital security resources and mental health support to journalists in exile across the American continent, he added.

“If people who are forced to flee do not take care of their well-being, of their mental health, at some point, sooner or later, they're going to burn out,” Lauría said. “Some of these media are three-, five-member teams that have to challenge authoritarians, and at the same time be reporters, editors, fundraisers [and] they have to take care of the digital security. It can be overwhelming.”

JX Fund has supported media outlets in exile from eight countries and awarded about 200 grants to 119 organizations in about four and a half years.  The mission of the organization is to respond to the needs of media outlets in exile, from technology and security to sustainability.

Zaaimi said that, in addition to providing relocation support, grants and training, RSF’s assistance program is implementing new and innovative ways to combat censorship. As an example, she mentioned the launch of a shortwave radio frequency in Iran, whose content is produced by journalists in exile in France.

Zamora added that CPJ has expanded its work to address the needs of journalists in exile through training, guides and security resources, while also promoting collaboration among support organizations.

“Exile journalism is here to stay and it needs to be addressed in a systemic way,” Zamora said.