Russia's Justice Ministry on Friday declared DW journalist Alexander Smirnov a "foreign agent."

The ministry said that Smirnov had participated in the creation and distribution of content for "foreign agents" — a label that was assigned to DW in March 2022 — and "undesired organizations."

He is accused of spreading fake news about "politics and decisions of the Russian government."

Several DW journalists are already on Russia's "foreign agent" list.

The update to the "foreign agents" list on Friday also included academic Yuri Pivovarov, chairman of the board of the human rights organization Memorial Yan Rachinsky, journalist Alexei Sukhanov, lawyer Igor Slabykh, economist and entrepreneur Dmitry Nekrasov, and journalist Andrei Korolev.

Smirnov is known in Russia by his poet pen name Delfinov.

Russia has cracked down on press freedom and criticism of the government since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Russian Justice Ministry's list of "foreign agents" currently comprises nearly 600 individuals and more than 400 organizations.