Russian "Foreign Agents" Forebode Trouble for Free Speech

In 2012, the Russian government passed the “foreign agent” law which significantly hindered the reach of the news and media. The law requires non commercial organizations to register as “foreign agents” if they receive any foreign money to operate and pursue reporting on political content. However, individual journalists can also be named a “foreign agent” separate from the organization they work at, causing anxiety for individual reporters and writers because of restrictions placed on their writings, decreases in their audiences, and financial restrictions with no way for the label to be removed. Since the initial passing of this law, it has been modified numerous times to extend the control of the Russian government on news and media. The most recent of these modifications came in early October, publishing a list of 60 topics, with the law now including jurisdiction over those who report on the military and space operations of Russia. 

The impact on the organization or journalist being placed on the “foreign agent” list is twofold. Firstly, they must caption every article, interview, and tweet with the phrase “THIS MESSAGE (MATERIAL) WAS CREATED AND (OR) DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN MEDIA OUTLET, PERFORMING THE FUNCTIONS OF A FOREIGN AGENT, AND (OR) A RUSSIAN LEGAL ENTITY, PERFORMING THE FUNCTION OF A FOREIGN AGENT”. This post precursor must be applied to anything that person or organization authors once they are named on the list even if the content is not political in nature. Secondly, the audience of their works will shrink as the label prevents advertisers from sponsoring these organizations. By reducing available funds for those on the list, the precursor deters organizations and journalists from covering various topics, and as the list of topics broadens, coverage shrinks. Those that are affixed with this label are unlikely to be employed. People who continue writing critical articles may face a fine or the possibility of being incarcerated.

Russia has responded to criticism over this law by stating that it is not too different from existing legislation in the United States that also labels foreign-sponsored and funded reporting outlets as “foreign agents”. Additionally, Russia has continued to defend this law in the name of national security and government transparency, since the legislation is meant to curb foreign influence in the news. 

However, Russia’s law is far more encompassing and has been used to silence opposition in the media space, with the Venice commission calling the “foreign agents” law a violation of human rights. Journalists that are critical of the Russian government are more likely to be registered as “foreign agents”, therefore, it appears that the law is actually aimed towards  suppressing critical media that harms the control and reputation of the government. For instance, the media outlet Bellingcat has been recently named a “foreign outlet” following multiple articles criticizing or exposing the Russian government’s involvement in activities such as the poisonings of various political figures. 

As for preventive measures of future laws being passed, advanced, or expanded, the future looks dim. President Putin’s reign comes with greater want for control over the legislature, which mainly acts in line with Putin’s agenda. Foreign governments may place or increase sanctions on Russia as a way to put pressure, but without a change in government stance, this seems to be the continual future for the country’s media. With these recent actions, it becomes greatly apparent that this law is not solely being used for national security, but to stifle criticism and negative views of the Russian government.

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