On ANI Vs Wikipedia Case

Source: The post On ANI Vs Wikipedia Case has been created, based on the article “On ANI’s defamation suit against Wikipedia” published in “The Hindu” on 11th August 2024

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2- Governance- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context: The article discusses ANI’s lawsuit against Wikipedia for defamation due to claims of spreading government propaganda. It details the Delhi High Court’s actions, Wikipedia’s stance on neutrality, previous censorship issues, and global challenges faced by Wikipedia.

Why did ANI sue Wikipedia?

1. Defamatory Description: Asian News International (ANI) sued Wikipedia due to being described as a source of government propaganda. Wikipedia’s page on ANI claimed the news agency served as a propaganda tool for the central government.
2. Specific Allegations: ANI was accused of distributing materials from fake news websites and misreporting events, based on sources like The Diplomat, EU DisinfoLab, and The Caravan magazine.
3. Edit War: Wikipedia’s ANI page faced continuous edits by users after new reports scrutinized ANI’s credibility in 2020. This led to a long “edit war.”
4. Lawsuit: ANI found these claims defamatory and demanded ₹2 crore in damages, filing a lawsuit against Wikipedia’s parent organization, the Wikimedia Foundation, in the Delhi High Court.

What has the Delhi High Court ordered?

1. On August 20, 2023, the Delhi High Court, under Justice Navin Chawla, ordered Wikimedia Foundation to provide details of three users who edited the ANI page on Wikipedia.
2. Wikimedia was instructed to serve a summons to these users to appear in the case.
3. ANI filed a contempt application, leading to the judge threatening to block Wikipedia in India if Wikimedia didn’t comply.
4. The court directed an “authorized representative” from Wikimedia to be present at the next hearing on October 25, 2023.

Has Wikipedia faced similar issues in other countries?

1. Wikipedia has faced similar issues in other countries, including Russia and Germany.
2. In Russia, editors have been arrested since the country’s invasion of Ukraine, facing intimidation for their work on Wikipedia.
3. In 2019, a German court ordered Wikipedia to remove content about academic Alex Waibel, showing legal challenges in Germany.
4. Wikipedia also routinely faces lawsuits in the U.S., but most cases are dismissed due to strong protections for web platforms.
5. In China, Wikipedia has been blocked for years, highlighting censorship issues in restrictive environments.
6. Russia developed a forked version, Ruwiki, complying with its narratives.

Question for practice:

Examine the reasons why ANI sued Wikipedia and the actions taken by the Delhi High Court in response to the lawsuit.