Russia adds 2 more publishers to ‘foreign agents’ list

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities on Friday added two publishers to their list of foreign agents, in what critics say is an ongoing effort to sideline reporting critical of the government.

Putting a media organization on the list requires it to identify its stories as produced by a foreign agent, a term that carries strong pejorative connotations and implies increased government scrutiny.

The Justice Ministry said it had added Moscow Digital Media, which publishes the analytical online journal Republic, and RS-Balt, which operates the news portal Rosbalt, to the list.

Russian law allows organizations and individuals determined to be involved in unspecified political activity that receive funding from abroad to be declared foreign agents.

Last week, the ministry added reporters from the independent TV station Dozhd, US-funded radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the BBC to the list, along with the Kavkazsky Uzel outlet that covers events in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus.