Russia Local partner appointed Bellingcat Investigative Journalism Collective As a “foreign agent,” he was obviously retaliating for helping expose the Kremlin’s role in the Salisbury poisoning incident and the security agency’s assassination attempt.
The Russian Ministry of Justice named five reporters on the investigation website Insider and other publications “foreign agents” on Friday. This label implies that news organizations and individual reporters are using foreign funds to influence Russian politics.
The name requires outlets to mark all of its content, which is said to scare away potential partners and advertisers. Organizations deemed to be non-compliant with the law may be forced to close.
“Regarding the inclusion of the insider on the list of the Ministry of Justice, we announced that our newsroom will continue to operate,” the insider said in a statement. “We will continue to familiarize readers with important social information in a complete and uncensored form in accordance with Latvian laws and common sense.” Insider is headquartered in Riga, but its reporters often work in Russia.
Insider has been one of several new investigative websites that released blockbuster bombs to expose the embarrassment of the Kremlin.Together with Bellingcat, it helps Reveal the identities of two GRU agents Believed to have committed the Salisbury poisoning incident, An FSB strike team Behind the scenes of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s poisoning attack, And other assassination attempts and alleged tricks by Russian agents in Europe.
This appointment was made during Russia’s crackdown on independent media. Insider is the 16th media company listed as a foreign agent. Some outlets have been closed after being declared “foreign agents,” claiming that this designation cut off potential sources of funding. Others, such as Medusa, tried to avoid closure through crowdfunding efforts.
The prosecutor also announced that Navalny’s investigative department is an “extremist” and is seeking millions of dollars in fines from RFE/RL, a media that publishes news reports in Russian funded by the U.S. Congress.
Last week, Russia declared the Proekt website an “unpopular organization”, forced it to shut down, and asked other news organizations to delete links to Proekt reports under threat of prosecution. Proekt investigated the corruption among Putin’s top allies and said it had discovered a woman believed to be his secret daughter.
On Friday, five Russian journalists called “foreign agents” worked for Proekt, Open Media and freelancers.
