MeitY Summons Wikipedia Executives To Discuss Fake Information On Cricketer Arshdeep Singh’s Page

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has taken a serious view of the fake information on cricketer Arshdeep Singh’s Wikipedia page. The ministry has reportedly summoned Wikipedia executives in India to seek an explanation on how the cricketer’s page entry was changed to reflect ‘Khalistan’ association.

As per an ET report, a high-level panel will meet Wikipedia executives to discuss several issues such as checks and balances of edits being allowed on the website. The panel is likely to be led by IT secretary Alkesh Kumar Sharma.

The edits have been traced back to servers in neighbouring countries, a senior government official was quoted as saying in the report. He noted that it can “cause serious damage to the internal peace and national safety of India”.

The government will ask Wikipedia executives as to how such an edit could be allowed to stay on for a long time.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Technology, also raised concern on the matter and said the misinformation campaign violates the government’s expectation of ‘safe’ and ‘trusted’ internet.

Singh, a fast bowler of the Indian cricket team, faced heavy criticism on Twitter after he dropped a catch during a match against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup on Sunday which India lost. Following that, his Wikipedia entry was changed. The page read that Singh had been selected to play for the ‘Khalistani national cricket team’. 

The government has been very vocal about misinformation on social media platforms and has stepped in from time-to-time to curb such activities. Last month, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) blocked eight YouTube news channels, one Facebook account, and two Facebook posts for spreading disinformation related to India’s national security, foreign relations and public order. 

The eight channels included eight Indian news channels and one Pakistan-based News channel.

Earlier this year, the central government criticised tech giants such as Google, Twitter and Facebook for not proactively removing “fake news” on their platforms in a virtual meeting with them.