Delhi HC directs Wikipedia to remove page with defamatory content on ANI
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered Wikimedia Foundation to remove the allegedly defamatory content and description of news agency Asian News International (ANI) on its Wikipedia page.
Justice Subramonium Prasad, who heard the petition, disposed of ANI’s plea for interim injunction asking for an order for the removal of the content and also to restrain Wikipedia from publishing the matter on the news agency's page on its platform.
In addition, ANI has filed a Rs 2 crore defamation suit against Wikimedia Foundation for posting the content on the page, which says that ANI ‘has been criticized for having served as a propaganda tool for the incumbent central government, distributing materials from a vast network of fake news websites, and misreporting events.’
The news agency has accused Wikimedia Foundation of publishing false and defamatory content with an intention of tarnishing the agency’s reputation and to discredit its goodwill.
The Delhi HC had directed Wikipedia in August 2024 to disclose to ANI the subscriber details of the three individuals available with it within two weeks.
Wikipedia, however, challenged the court order before the division bench, which later ordered that the page in question be taken down. The bench noted that adverse comments were made against the single judge on the page, saying it was prima facie contemptuous.
Wikipedia's petition in court was disposed of after both the parties entered into a consent order and resolved the matter. The division bench asked the single judge to proceed ahead with the defamation suit. In November, Justice Prasad had issued summons to three individuals who had allegedly edited the Wikipedia page of ANI.
Recently, the Supreme Court issued notice following Wikipedia's appeal against the order of the division bench to remove the Wikipedia page relating to the defamation dispute.
Senior advocate Jayant Mehta argued in the High Court on behalf of Wikipedia during the hearing on Wednesday, while advocate Sidhant Kumar represented ANI.
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Trump says there will be 'severe consequences' if Putin doesn't agree to stop war after summit
Washington, Aug 13 (AP): US President Donald Trump said Wednesday there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn't agree to stop the Ukraine war after Friday's summit.
Trump was “very clear” in a virtual meeting Wednesday with European leaders that the US wants to achieve a ceasefire at the upcoming US-Russia summit in Alaska, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
In the same meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, he told the group that Putin “is bluffing” ahead of the planned meeting with Trump.
Putin, Zelenskyy said, “is trying to apply pressure ... on all sectors of the Ukrainian front” in an attempt to show that Russia is “capable of occupying all of Ukraine.”
Putin is also bluffing about sanctions, “as if they do not matter to him and are ineffective. In reality, sanctions are very helpful and are hitting Russia's war economy hard,” Zelenskyy said.
