- Delhi High Court ruled that Wikipedia cannot avoid liability for defamatory content about ANI
- Court ordered removal of false statements and lifted edit restrictions on ANI’s page
- Wikipedia’s claim of being a neutral intermediary was rejected; case now moves to Supreme Court
On April 2, the Delhi High Court gave a major judgment against Wikipedia in a defamation case filed by ANI Media Pvt Ltd. The court ruled that Wikipedia cannot escape responsibility by calling itself just an intermediary, as it had published false and damaging content about ANI on its platform.
Justice Subramonium Prasad said people often believe what is written on Wikipedia, so its responsibility is higher. The court noted that the ANI Wikipedia page had twisted statements and changed the meaning of articles. It also said the content went against Wikipedia’s own rule of staying neutral.
The court ordered the removal of defamatory content and told the Wikimedia Foundation to lift the page protection that blocked public edits since May 2024. ANI said its attempts to correct the page using credible sources were reversed.
Wikipedia claimed it does not write or edit content itself, but the court rejected this and said intermediaries must remove harmful content when notified. The case is not fully over yet, as ANI’s main case asking for Rs 2 crore in damages is still going on. Wikipedia has now gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the decision.
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