Mon 13 June 2022:
The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, has filed an appeal against a Moscow court order requiring it to remove information on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, stating that people have a right to know the truth about the conflict, Reuters reports.
The Wikimedia Foundation was fined 5 million roubles ($88,000) by a Moscow court for refusing to remove what it called “disinformation” from Russian-language Wikipedia articles on the war, including “The Russian Invasion of Ukraine,” “War Crimes During the Russian Invasion of Ukraine,” and “Massacre in Bucha.”
“This decision implies that well-sourced, verified knowledge on Wikipedia that is inconsistent with Russian government accounts constitutes disinformation,” Stephen LaPorte, Associate General Counsel at the Wikimedia Foundation, said in a statement.
Wikipedia, which says it offers “the second draft of history”, is one of the few remaining major fact-checked Russian-language sources of information for Russians after a crackdown on media in Moscow.
“The government is targeting information that is vital to people’s lives in a time of crisis,” LaPorte said. “We urge the court to reconsider in favor of everyone’s rights to knowledge access and free expression.”
The Moscow court argued that the disinformation on Wikipedia posed a threat to Russian public order, and that the Foundation, based in San Francisco, California, was acting within Russia.
A legislation was used to penalize the Foundation for failing to remove banned information. The lawsuit was brought by Roskomnadzor, Russia’s communications regulator, which did not respond to a request for comment on Wikipedia right away.
The Wikipedia appeal, which was submitted on June 6 and the contents of which were revealed on Monday, claims that removing information violates human rights. It claimed that Russia had no control over the Wikimedia Foundation, which was available in more than 300 languages throughout the world.
Volunteers contribute to Wikipedia entries by writing and editing them.
Journalists in both Moscow and the West have been accused of misreporting the war, which is Europe’s largest ground invasion since World War Two.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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