Russia fines Wikipedia for publishing facts instead of Kremlin war propaganda

Enlarge / Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony at the Eternal Flame and the Unknown Soldier’s grave in Alexander Garden in Moscow, Russia, on February 23, 2023. (credit: Getty Images | Pavel Bednyakov)

A Russian court fined the Wikimedia Foundation 2 million rubles (about $27,000) today for failing to delete alleged “misinformation” about the Russian military from Wikipedia, Reuters reported. It’s the third fine Russia has issued against the Wikipedia owner since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago.

“Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Russia introduced sweeping new laws restricting what people can report about the conflict, fining or blocking websites that spread information at odds with the Kremlin’s official narrative. … The latest fine was imposed after the authorities accused Wikipedia of ‘spreading misinformation’ in articles about Russian military units,” Wikimedia Russia told Reuters.

Wikimedia has consistently fought Russia’s attempts at censorship. After receiving a demand to remove content about the invasion of Ukraine on March 1, 2022, Wikimedia said it “will not back down in the face of efforts to censor and intimidate members of our movement.”