A Russian court has fined Wikipedia owner Wikimedia Foundation 2 million rubles (approximately $27,000) for refusing to comply with requests to take down content related to the invasion of Ukraine that the Kremlin alleges is “misinformation,” according to a report by Reuters.
This is the third time Wikimedia has been fined for Russian military-related content since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.
“Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Russia introduced sweeping new laws restricting what people can report about the conflict, fining or blocking websites that spread information at odds with the Kremlin’s official narrative. … The latest fine was imposed after the authorities accused Wikipedia of ‘spreading misinformation’ in articles about Russian military units,” Wikimedia Russia said in a statement to Reuters.
When it first received a content takedown request on March 1 last year, Wikimedia said “it will not back down in the face of efforts to censor and intimidate members of our movement.”
“The information available on Wikipedia is sourced and shared by volunteers who invest time and effort to ensure that the content is fact-based and reliable,” the organization said at the time. “Many continue to do so in adverse circumstances: As the invasion continues, Ukrainian volunteers have continued to add content and make edits to Wikipedia, even in face of deep hardship.”
