A Russian court has fined the Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, after claiming it failed to delete “banned content” to do with the Russian military.
The article in question reportedly had “classified military information” about its equipment and location, with information that Russia claims related to its special military operation in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
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The company previously defended the article by saying it adhered to Wikipedia standards and was well-sourced.
Wikimedia’s fine, which cost the company Rbs2m ($24,510), is the seventh penalty by the Russian court in 2023 for not removing banned information.
Wikimedia’s fines now sit at a whopping Rbs8.4m ($103,000).
Leighanna Mixter, Wikimedia’s senior legal manager, previously said: “These orders are part of an ongoing effort by the Russian government to limit the spread of reliable, well-sourced information in the country.”
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By GlobalDataWikipedia is one of the last independent sources of information in Russia since the Russian government cracked down on online content following its invasion of Ukraine.
Maksut Shadaev, Russia’s digital affairs minister, stated last week that there were no plans to block Wikipedia yet.
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