Remove defamatory content about ANI, Delhi HC tells Wikipedia
The Hindu
Delhi High Court orders Wikimedia to remove defamatory content about ANI from Wikipedia, emphasizing neutrality and accountability.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (April 8, 2025) directed the Wikimedia Foundation to remove allegedly defamatory content about Asian News International (ANI) from its Wikipedia platform that labelled the news agency a “propaganda tool for the incumbent government.”
A Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta remarked that since Wikipedia pleaded itself to be an intermediary, in terms of the IT Rules all intermediaries have an obligation to make efforts not to publish any objectionable content.
The court’s decision came on an appeal filed by Wikimedia against an April 2 order of the High Court in which it was ordered to take down the allegedly defamatory content against ANI on its platform.
The previous order of the court had raised concerns over the neutrality of Wikipedia content, particularly regarding edits on ANI page. The court had said the Wikimedia Foundation “cannot completely wash its hands of the contents of the article on the ground that it is only an intermediary and cannot be held responsible for the statement that is published on its platform”.
On Tuesday, the court observed that Wikipedia is regarded as an encyclopedia and should maintain neutrality and not take sides like a blog.
The court slightly revised its April 2 order, directing Wikipedia to remove the alleged defamatory content and allowing ANI to notify the platform of any similar future content, which Wikipedia must then act upon.
Earlier, ANI had taken Wikimedia to the court contending that the page dedicated to the news agency had been locked from public editing, preventing ANI or its representatives from rebutting or correcting the statements made.
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