The legal landscape surrounding solidarity media and journalism varies around the world. In some countries, every kind of journalism falls under government review. Some countries ban adversarial journalism by prohibiting reporters from questioning those in power, and block, limit, or restrict posts on social media platforms.
Yet repression does not always arrive through the law. It also takes insidious forms, such as when state interests bend newsrooms toward their agenda. This phenomenon, known as “media capture,” means that even in places with long histories of independent journalism and constitutional protections for free speech, dominant media may shift to serve government interests and agendas. In these cases, media capture is the outcome of decisions on the part of media owners to align with a regime – even without a formal legal order to do so.
Solidarity media accounts the wide range of ways that people come together to exercise freedom of expression despite – and often due to – state-imposed restrictions and repression of other communication channels. When mainstream media capitulates and dominant online spaces are censored, people resist by creating and sharing their own media.
Here are a few examples of solidarity media that persist in settings with repressive conditions:
- Zines
- Videos of what is happening on-the-ground, often sent through messaging apps for people in other countries to share publicly on social media.
- Exiled media, also known as exiled journalism
- Physical publications including pamphlets designed to avoid digital detection
Solidarity media spans historical eras, contemporary contexts, languages, and locations. Through solidarity media, people tell their own stories not as an ornamental exercise of sharing for the sake of sharing but as a way to build power in community, reclaim the truth of the ongoing fight for basic dignity, and envision a better future together.
This resource is based on the following scholarship. If you would like a PDF of these works or cited works, please email anita.varma@austin.utexas.edu.
Varma, A., & Shaban, S. (2024). Conceptualizing feminist solidarity through resistance in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement. Communication, Culture & Critique, 17(2), 120-126.
Varma, A. (2024). Navigating the Dangers of Mainstream Visibility for Marginalized Communities Through an Ethic of Solidarity in Digital Journalism. In The Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies (pp. 368-376). Routledge.
Varma, A. (2025). Solidarity reporting on marginalization: A grounded alternative to monitorial reporting’s emphasis on officials. Journalism Practice, 19(1), 186-202.