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- Wikipedia fights Russian order to remove Ukraine war information
Wikipedia fights Russian order to remove Ukraine war information
'The government is targeting information that is vital to people's lives in a time of crisis'
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The Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, filed an appeal against a Moscow court decision demanding that it remove information related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, arguing that people have a right to know the facts of the war.
A Moscow court fined the Wikimedia Foundation $88,000 for refusing to remove what it termed disinformation from Russian-language Wikipedia articles on the war, including "The Russian Invasion of Ukraine," "War Crimes during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine," and "Massacre in Bucha."
"This decision implies that well-sourced, verified knowledge on Wikipedia that is inconsistent with Russian government accounts constitutes disinformation," Stephen LaPorte, Associate General Counsel at the Wikimedia Foundation, said in a statement, according to Reuters.
Wikipedia is one of the few remaining major fact-checked Russian-language sources of information for Russians after a crackdown on media in Moscow.
"The government is targeting information that is vital to people's lives in a time of crisis," LaPorte said. "We urge the court to reconsider in favor of everyone's rights to knowledge access and free expression."
The Moscow court argued that what it cast as the disinformation on Wikipedia posed a risk to public order in Russia and that the Foundation, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California, was operating inside Russia.
Wikipedia’s appeal, filed on June 6 with details released on Monday, argues that removing information violates human rights. It said Russia had no jurisdiction over the Wikimedia Foundation, which was globally available in over 300 languages.