ANI sued Wikimedia Foundation for defamation over a description of the news agency as a propaganda tool.
The Delhi High Court threatened to block Wikipedia if the Foundation didn't provide details of the users who made the edits.
A series of edits were made to the ANI page, with new accounts adding content critical of the agency.
The page described ANI as a propaganda tool for the Indian government and accused it of misreporting events.
Wikimedia Foundation defended the page, citing reliable sources and the right of users to contribute.
The court ordered Wikimedia to serve summons to three users involved in the edits.
The Foundation has historically resisted unmasking individual editors outside the U.S.
The judge threatened to block Wikipedia if the Foundation didn't comply with the order.
Global Challenges for Wikipedia
Wikipedia has faced bans and lawsuits in various countries due to controversial content.
Wikipedia editors have been targeted in Russia and Germany for their work.
Wikipedia has faced vandalism in India, including the targeting of Arshdeep Singh's page.
Wikipedia's Policies and Practices
Anyone can edit Wikipedia pages, but some contentious topics are restricted to registered users.
Wikipedia's norms and guidelines are decided by the community.
Wikipedia has been accused of having a progressive or liberal bias, which has been supported by some studies.
OpIndia, a right-wing news portal, has closely followed the ANI lawsuit and accused Wikipedia of liberal bias.
OpIndia has revealed the identity of an editor involved in the ANI page edits.
OpIndia has criticized Wikipedia's description of the 2020 Delhi riots.
Wikipedia has banned articles from OpIndia due to its unreliability.
Potential for Wikipedia Blocking in India
While Wikipedia has faced threats from the Indian government, it may not be completely immune from blocking.
India's IT Rules allow for blocking of content based on court orders, which could potentially affect Wikipedia.
Wikipedia's open-source nature allows for the creation of forks that could be used to censor content.
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