NEW DELHI: The Centre has issued notice to Wikipedia referring to various complaints of “bias and inaccuracies” in information available on the platform. Seeking explanation, the Government, in the notice, asked why it should not be treated as a publisher instead of an intermediary.
The communication from the Information and Broadcasting ministry stated that there is a view that a small group exercises editorial control on its pages. The development has come weeks after a contempt notice issued by the Delhi High Court to Wikipedia for not disclosing information about users responsible for allegedly defamatory edits to news agency Asian News International’s (ANI’s) page on the site.
The ministry officials confirmed the notice sent to the ‘free online encyclopedia’. Explanation has been sought on complaints of bias and inaccuracies, the officials said. However, they refused to divulge further details on the matter.
Wikipedia advertises itself as a free online encyclopedia where volunteers can create or edit pages on personalities, issues or various subjects. “Hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia consists of freely editable content, with articles that often contain numerous links guiding readers to more information,” read its ‘About’ section.
The popular online source of information is embroiled in legal cases in India over alleged inaccurate and defamatory content provided by it.
In September, the High Court cautioned Wikipedia stating that it would block the website if it doesn’t comply with India’s laws and issued a contempt of court notice. The court was dealing with a defamation suit by the ANI.
The news agency had accused the platform of allowing defamatory edits referring to it as a ‘propaganda tool’ for the government. Seeking `2 crore as damages, ANI has sought a restraining order against the website from allowing allegedly defamatory edited content on the page.