A new fine has been imposed on the Wikimedia Foundation, following a decision by a Russian court. The reason ? The online encyclopedia does not embrace the Moscow narrative in its articles.
Russia’s war against Ukraine is also a battle of stories. And in this conflict, Wikipedia does not intend to be a battlefield — or, more precisely, the online encyclopedia does not intend to give in to Moscow’s narrative about the reasons for the military attack on Kiev. Even if it means exposing yourself to fines and blocking measures in the country.
A new fine against the Wikimedia Foundation
In its edition of February 28, the Reuters news agency reports the sanction that fell on the Wikimedia foundation in Russia: 2 million rubles, or nearly 25,000 euros. The reason ? The structure that oversees the online encyclopedia is accused of letting elements about the war in Ukraine prosper which, according to Russian law, are disinformation.
The outbreak of the war against the Ukrainian neighbor was accompanied in Russia by a strong takeover of what is said on the subject in the country – we do not speak of war, for example, but of a military operation special. And beware of those who do not follow the informational path marked out by Moscow: outside the nails, this can lead to prison.
The pressure exerted by the authorities, via the courts or the regulator, against the Wikimedia Foundation is not new. Last spring, Wikimedia was fined a similar amount for passages deemed “ inaccurate on seven articles present on the Russian version of Wikipedia. The encyclopedia had opposed these pressures at the time.
The issue of information around the conflict between Russia and Ukraine does not only concern the Russian version. The other linguistic declensions are also faced with this challenge, but of a slightly different nature: they must manage attempts at manipulation, in particular for the benefit of Russia. Last October, an operation of this type was detected and countered.
There remains a more serious risk for Wikipedia and Russian Internet users: the blocking of pages. For the time being, this ax has not fallen, in particular because the site is encrypted, which prevents targeting a specific article. A specificity which perhaps restrains the Russian authorities. But in the country, some Internet users seem to believe that it will not necessarily last. Several of them preferred to download an offline version of the encyclopedia, just in case.
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