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Refuting media reports, Wikipedia’s parent company has denied receipt of a government notice from the Centre in the last two days
“The Wikimedia Foundation has not received any official notice from the Indian government regarding editing practices or the accuracy of content on Wikipedia in the last two days,” a Wikimedia Foundation spokesperson told businessline on November 7, 2024.
Earlier, some media had reported that the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry had sent a notice to the organisation, questioning its status as an intermediary rather than a publisher. The alleged notice had also accused editorial control by a small group and of putting up a front as a free online encyclopaedia.
Regarding the editorial accusations, the organisation said, “Wikipedia volunteers carefully curate information from reliable news sources and other reputable external publications; they don’t add original content to the site. This approach ensures that Wikipedia compiles information from credible sources. All sources are cited on article pages, upholding our commitment to transparency.”
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“Wikipedia articles are required by its editorial policies to maintain a neutral point of view. Volunteers from many backgrounds and political persuasions edit Wikipedia. This model reinforces that Wikipedia articles present a broad view of knowledge on a topic, rather than any one perspective.”
According to Wikimedia, India ranks fifth in terms of number of views on the website, while it receives nearly 260,000 volunteer content contributions globally. businessline has reached out to the I&B Ministry regarding Wikimedia’s statement.
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