Explained: What’s ANI vs Wikipedia legal battle all about?

ANI has lodged a lawsuit of Rs 2 crore against US-based non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, for “allowing misleading, negative, and defamatory” edits on their Wikipedia page.   

The second paragraph of Wikipedia’s page on ANI says that the news agency has been “accused of having served as a propaganda tool for the incumbent central government, distributing materials from a vast network of fake news websites, and misreporting events on multiple occasions”. ANI, meanwhile, has alleged that the edit has been done with the “malicious intent” to tarnish its reputation.

In a hearing of the case earlier this month, Justice Navin Chawla of the Delhi High Court asked the foundation to disclose information about the editors who made the edits and also remarked that if Wikipedia doesn’t like India, they should not work here.

But does Wikipedia have control over who writes and edits on its pages? Can absolutely anyone write anything? How does it work? Why did Justice Chawla make such a strong statement? Is it likely that Wikipedia will be banned in India? What is happening in the case?

Watch. 

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