The war in Ukraine continues to be a source of controversy over the handling of information, and Russia has again accused Wikipedia for allegedly disclosing “inaccurate” data. the Roskomnadzorthe Russian body that regulates the media, put the Free Encyclopedia back in the spotlight and threatens to fine him.
As published by the body on its website, Wikipedia promotes “an exclusively anti-Russian interpretation of events”. Because of this, you asked the platform to remove the content you consider incorrect, which has not happened so far (and is unlikely to happen).
“Recently, Wikipedia began to massively publish material spreading false information about the special military operation in Ukraine and the actions of the armed forces of the Russian Federation. Wikipedia has become a new line of constant information attacks against Russians,” Roskomnadzor reported.
Regulators insist that if Free Encyclopedia officials don’t back down from their stance, they could receive a fine of up to 4 million rubles, which converts to just under $47,000. For now, as collected PCMagthe Wikimedia Foundation has not commented on this.
Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Wikipedia has also been part of the tension generated by the conflict. The terminology used in the Russian version of the article detailing the confrontation has been the main source of controversy among editors. Indeed, after a long discussion managed to hold the title “Russian Invasion of Ukraine 2022”; previously, attempts had been made to amend it to include terms such as “aggression” or “special military operation”.
The war in Ukraine can also be seen on Wikipedia
It was precisely the aforementioned page that aroused the fury of the Kremlin and the claims of Roskomnadzor. At the beginning of March, Russia had already threatened to block access to it in the country; but from the Wikimedia Foundation warned that this would not be possible and that such a measure would prevent access to the entire encyclopedia.
The organization that maintains Wikipedia had warned that the platform’s censorship This would have an impact far beyond what is related to the war in Ukraine.. It’s that since three-quarters of Russian content is generated from Russia, a state veto would disrupt the quality control process.
“Maintaining access to free knowledge is a contribution to ending bloodshed and suffering in conflict-affected regions and transitioning to a more peaceful future,” the Wikimedia Foundation said in response to threats from the Kremlin.
Will Wikipedia follow in the footsteps of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and virtually every Western platform blocked by the Putin government? For now, it is unknown, although it would not be strange if it happened. However, the censorship applied by the authorities has lost its effectiveness over the weeks; this has been fueled by the growing popularity of VPNs and private messaging apps.
