The Wikimedia Foundation has issued a statement in support of Russian Wikipedia volunteers following a request for censorship by Internet regulators.
The regulatory authority technology and communications Roskomnadzor threatened to block a Russian-language Wikipedia page covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, claiming it contained "false messages" about war victims and the effects of economic sanctions, among others.
Roskomnadzor received the testimony from the General Prosecutor's Office with severe blocking Wikipedia for the article "Second Russia's Ukraine (2022)". pic.twitter.com/O3vKd7H1GV
- Русская Википедия (@ru_wikipedia) March 1, 2022
“On March 1, 2022, the Wikimedia Foundation (Wikimedia Foundation) received a request from the Russian government to remove content related to the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine published by volunteer contributors to the Russian Wikipedia,” it said in a statement emailed to The Verge.
"As always, the Wikipedia is an important source of reliable, and factual information on this crisis. Recognizing this important role, we will not back down in the face of attempts to censor and intimidate members of our institution. Our mission is to offer free knowledge to the world."