Furkan Saliu, Portalix, and building trust in North Macedonia
When Furkan Saliu walked into his director’s office to resign, he did not expect others to follow.
“I said, it’s enough,” he recalls. “I could not stand the pressure anymore. It had become too much”
For more than eight years, he had worked in mainstream media outlets in North Macedonia. Slowly but surely he began to see the sector change. Story after story had to be argued, not against facts - but from censorship. “We had cases when we had to argue about our own investigations. We didn’t know anymore how we could tell the truth.”
He was ready and willing to take the risk alone. He had no children at the time, no loans, no big commitments, and knew that the moment to leave was now. But the others did.
An experienced journalist, a cameraman, a young video editor, all joined him. They had families, apartments, responsibilities. But the truth mattered more to them than the risks.
“I told them, stay. When we have funding, you will come,” Furkan says. “But they said no. We are leaving with you.”
That was the beginning of Portalix.
Starting With the Citizens
Portalix was launched in 2023 and immediately provided with a start-up support from EED. With the goal of winning over people’s trust, Saliu and his young team set out to achieve what no others had - start with the people, not with the politicians.
“In our country, every statement of officials is big news. They are the biggest stars,” Furkan says. “We don’t care what the Prime Minister said. We care about what people are saying, what they are dealing with, how their lives are.”
Portalix could lead with political soundbites. Instead they let the citizens’ shape their reporting. In a country where trust in media is low and pressure is high, this shift resonates.
Within two weeks of launching a crowdfunding campaign, the team raised more than €4,000. Citizens offered to buy cameras and microphones. Others helped assemble technical equipment. A community came together to support them.
“It was amazing,” Furkan says. “We are journalists, a cameraman, a video editor. It’s not like we knew everything. But people believed in us, and we delivered.” He smiles.
Flipping the Script
For Furkan, journalism is not about headlines, but about impact.
He recounts the case of an elderly couple who had lost their home through fraud. The problem had existed for years. After months of investigation and one final week of intense reporting, their home – everything they had lost - was returned.
“We brought homes back to people,” he says simply.
In another case, a father contacted Portalix in desperation. His son urgently needed specific medication that was supposed to be provided free through the public healthcare system. It had disappeared. There were indications it was being sold illegally on the black market.
“If my kid doesn’t get the medicine, he might die,” the father told him.
Portalix investigated. They visited institutions. They asked questions. The medication reappeared.
“When somebody says, ‘Thank you, without you I think I would be dead,’ that keeps you going,” Furkan says.
Checks and Balances
However, independent journalism in North Macedonia does not come without cost.
In 2024, Furkan was arrested and later subjected to smear campaigns accusing him of attacking a police officer, although the charges were eventually dropped. He won subsequent court cases against media outlets that published false claims, and even secured the return of his confiscated equipment.
He describes the smear narrative as familiar: accusations of serving “foreign interests”, a line increasingly common not only in North Macedonia but across the region. “It’s the same playbook everywhere,” he notes.
Portalix itself has faced challenges securing advertising. Private companies fear political repercussions if they place commercials with an outlet perceived as critical of those in power. Without international support, Furkan admits, survival would have been unlikely.
“Because of EED, we had an office. We could continue doing the job we love.”
For him, European support is not abstract funding, but solidarity.
Speaking Loudly
When Furkan was a child, there was no journalism faculty in North Macedonia. He was part of only the second generation to graduate in journalism after one was finally established.
“I always said I want to be a journalist,” he remembers. “If you want something really bad, it happens.”
He speaks often about voice and about speaking loudly enough to be heard. And about using that voice, his platform, responsibly.
“I thought that if I had the power to speak loudly, maybe some things would not happen,” he says. “Today I have that chance. I cannot let it go.”
Three years after that day he handed in his resignation, Portalix is still standing, still investigating, still provoking reactions, and still earning the trust of the North Macedonian people.
And Furkan Saliu remains convinced of one thing:
“If I know I’m right, I’m not going back.”
This article reflects the views of the grantees featured and does not necessarily represent the official opinion of EED.
