The Russian government is pressuring Wikipedia to remove information about the war in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, the country’s internet regulator Roskomnadzor denounced the site, saying “Wikipedia has become a new line of constant information attacks on Russians.”
For now, the Russian government is only threatening to fine the encyclopedia website up to 4 million rubles ($47,000) unless it scrubs the information. It’s unclear if the proposed fine is a one-time fee or if it could grow each day.
Roskomnadzor is likely demanding the site remove content from the Wikipedia page devoted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which now mentions civilian casualties and war crimes the Russian military has allegedly committed.
Roskomnadzor claims Wikipedia is spreading inaccurate information about the war by hosting the content. “In the articles published on the resource, an exclusively anti-Russian interpretation of events is promoted,” the regulator said.
The Wikimedia Foundation, which helps runs the encyclopedia site, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But the nonprofit has previously vowed to fight any Kremlin attempts to censor the site.
“As ever, Wikipedia is an important source of reliable, factual information in this crisis. In recognition of this important role, we will not back down in the face of efforts to censor and intimidate members of our movement,” the Wikimedia Foundation wrote last month.
The nonprofit wrote the statement days after the Russian government sent a request on March 1, demanding it remove content about its invasion of Ukraine. In response, the Wikimedia Foundation said the information was “sourced and shared by volunteers who invest time and effort to ensure that the content is fact-based and reliable.
“As the invasion continues, Ukrainian volunteers have continued to add content and make edits to Wikipedia, even in face of deep hardship,” the foundation added.
The decision to keep hosting the content may result in Russia issuing a site-wide block of Wikipedia. Last month, the Kremlin did just that to Facebook and Instagram for failing to comply with its demands. Russia has also recently passed a law that empowers authorities to jail anyone in the country for spreading alleged falsehoods about the war in Ukraine.