Journalism In Exile: Reporting, Sourcing, and Managing Everyday Life Away From Home

Editor’s note: One of the reporters who featured in the panel reported on below requested to remain anonymous for security reasons. We are not reporting on their comments, and did not photograph the panel for this reason. 

Geographic barriers, constant surveillance, and restricted access to their home countries are just some of the challenges faced by investigative journalists living in exile. How to continue reporting from a distance is one part of the story; how to figure out the basics of everyday life in a new country while continuing to do this journalism is perhaps less discussed.

David Dembélé, a seasoned investigative journalist from Mali, was forced to leave his home country because of his reporting. “Now, I am managing to continue my journalism. I want to survive and I want to work as a journalist,” said Dembélé, who is also the founder of the Malian Network of Investigative Journalists (RMJI). He spoke at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC25) in Malaysia, in a session entitled “Reporting from the Shadows: Strategies for Exiled Journalists in Censored Territories.”

It’s challenging but not impossible to continue journalism while in exile, the journalists in this session agreed. “Fact-checking is very important in my reporting,” said Dembélé, who has found some ways to report on the West Africa region using online tools, including using AI-powered tools for geolocation and X’s advanced search function.

After he was forced to leave Syria, investigative journalist Mohammad Bassiki pivoted to building resources that would help him continue to report on the country and the Middle East from afar. Bassiki founded the Syrian Investigative Reporting for Accountability Journalism (SIRAJ), an initiative that promotes investigative journalism and accountability in Syria, and helps Syrian journalists with investigative journalism training.

“There is no book to teach you [how to report while in exile], so you learn from other journalists,” he said.

Bassiki discussed his 2025 investigation, Ships Accused of Stealing Ukrainian Grain Linked to Assad Regime Front — a deep-dive on how three Syrian cargo vessels were accused of trafficking grain stolen from Russian-occupied Ukraine.

The session also featured insights from Exile Hub, a Myanmar-focused support group that tackles the administrative aspects of journalism and the lives of displaced journalists. “People live in various forms of exile — voluntary or involuntary,” said Exile Hub Program Director Yucca Wai.

Here is a summary of these journalists’ most crucial tips for operating — and living — in exile.

Dembélé’s Tips:

1. Avoid texting or messaging via commercial phone networks or operators – use encrypted services like Signal, and secure email providers like Protonmail, instead.
2. Avoid Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or Telegram.
3. Keep a low profile and avoid situations which may draw attention to you.
4. Avoid discussing sensitive topics on unencrypted phone calls or messages.

Bassiki’s Tips:

1. Minimize sharing information and don’t talk about the story publicly.
2. Use a VPN or Tor when online.
3. Use a pseudonym if needed.
4. If possible, delete all evidence after the date of story publication.
5. Use face-to-face communication when digital communication is too risky.

Wai’s Tips:

1. Always keep your papers — passport, driver’s license — in order, just in case you need to move quickly.
2. Always secure a visa for countries that allow a long-term stay. Mobility is important because transnational repression is a reality.
3. Shift your mindset about the kind of reporting you do. Instead of hyperlocal news, pivot to long-form reporting and investigations that can be done from outside the country.

“When exile happens, you’re not ready,” Dembélé told the GIJC25 audience. Journalists in exile are essentially rebuilding their lives, while navigating unfamiliar countries with unfamiliar systems.

The challenge could be something as seemingly simple as trying to use Bangkok’s public transport system after coming directly from rural Myanmar, said Exile Hub’s Wai. Outside the rigors of journalism in exile, “mental health and overall wellbeing is also important,” added Bassiki.