Desk:The Indian government has once again issued a warning to Wikipedia over inaccurate and biased information on its web pages. A formal notice has been sent, questioning why Wikipedia should not be treated as a publisher rather than an intermediary, as it claims.
In the notice issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, it was stated that a small organization controls the editorial content on the platform. Wikipedia, which promotes itself as an online encyclopedia, allows users to create or edit pages freely. Anyone can write or edit information on any subject.
There are ongoing legal cases in India against various online sources for spreading false information. Recently, Asian News International (ANI) approached the Delhi High Court, accusing Wikipedia of hosting defamatory edits about the news agency and demanding their removal. The High Court criticized Wikipedia, stating that if it allows such edits to be published, it cannot claim immunity as an intermediary. It was noted that Wikipedia is functioning as a publisher in such cases.
Justice Subramaniam commented that Wikipedia cannot defend itself if it publishes such edited content, emphasizing that Wikipedia’s role resembles that of a publisher. The court also remarked that the information on Wikipedia does not always represent accurate facts. In response, Wikipedia has stated that it is not defending the edits and will cooperate with the court.