Centre Sends Notice To Wikipedia Over Bias, Inaccuracy Complaints

The Centre has reportedly issued  a formal notice to Wikipedia, flagging many complaints of bias and inaccurate information on the web page.

In its notice, the ministry of information and broadcasting has said there is a view that a small group exercises editorial control on its pages, as per media reports.

The government also asked why Wikipedia should be classified as an intermediary rather than a publisher. 

It is pertinent to note that Wikipedia classifies itself as a free encyclopedia that enables volunteers to create and edit the content on its website. 

This open-editing model makes rapid updates possible but it comes with potential inaccuracies too. 

The notice comes amid ongoing legal battles involving Wikipedia’s allegedly promoting and providing inaccurate and defamatory content under the veil of an intermediary platform. 

One such case it is entangled with is a defamation lawsuit filed by the news agency Asian News International (ANI) where the news agency has alleged that certain edits on its Wikipedia page described ANI as a “propaganda tool” for the Indian government and included other defamatory content.

Around the latest development in this case, the Delhi High Court last month directed Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) (Wikipedia’s parent company) to take down a page on Wikipedia that deals with the news agency ANI’s defamation suit against the foundation.

Before that in September,  the Delhi HC issued a contempt notice to Wikimedia Foundation for not complying with its order to disclose the names of those who made alleged defamatory edits to news agency ANI’s Wikipedia page. 

The court further cautioned the platform that it could face operational restrictions in India if it fails to comply with local laws regarding content management and user identification

With the government’s intervention in the matter, Wikipedia may be required to take greater responsibility for the content on its platform which it usually bypasses classifying itself as an intermediary. This could also lead to fundamental change in the operating process of the platform which as of now operates as an open editorial platform.