BBC -- "Why Wikipedia has landed in legal trouble in India" [View all]

Last edited Wed Oct 30, 2024, 07:27 AM - Edit history (3)

Wikipedia is embroiled in a major legal battle in India that experts say could impact how the online encyclopaedia functions in the country.

The battle stems from a 20m rupee ($237,874; £183,012) lawsuit filed by India’s largest newswire service against Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, for allegedly publishing defamatory content against it.

In the lawsuit in the Delhi high court, Asian News International (ANI) said a paragraph in its description on Wikipedia falsely accuses it of being "a propaganda tool for the incumbent [federal] government” and of "distributing material from fake news websites" and demanded the page be taken down.

[. . . .]

Observers say this is probably the first time that a Wikipedia page in English language has been taken down after a court order.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrdydkypv7o
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[The effect of this litigation may reach far beyond India. What would stop the far right, or representatives of any side in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, from using defamation suits to try to change Wikipedia content?]