Russia fines Wikipedia

[Daniel Brandt]

https://www.rt.com/russia/554545-court- ... e-ukraine/

26 Apr, 2022 15:23

Russia fines Wikipedia

The platform was fined a total of 5 million rubles (some $67,000)
over illegal content related to the Ukraine conflict

© AFP / Kirill Kudryavtsev

A Moscow court imposed the first-ever fine on Wikimedia Commons,
the operator of the Wikipedia platform, on Tuesday. The foundation
was found guilty of failing to delete articles deemed to be in
violation of Russian law. Most of the content related to what was
classified as the spreading of misinformation about the Russian
military and its actions during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

"If the prosecutor believes that something is wrong in these
publications, he could have come and made edits," a lawyer said
during the hearings, as quoted by RIA Novosti.

Later in the day, the same court imposed an additional fine of
2 million rubles (some $26,800) on the platform in a separate
ruling over failure to delete an additional three articles.
One was also related to the Russian military and Ukraine conflict,
while the other two contained information on making explosives.

Russia attacked its neighbor following Ukraine’s failure to
implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, signed in 2014,
and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics
of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French brokered Minsk
Protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special
status within the Ukrainian state.

Later in the day, the same court imposed an additional fine
of 2 million rubles (some $26,800) on the platform in a separate
ruling over failure to delete an additional three articles.
One was also related to the Russian military and Ukraine conflict,
while the other two contained information on making explosives.

Russia attacked its neighbor following Ukraine’s failure to
implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, signed in 2014,
and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of
Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French brokered Minsk
Protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special
status within the Ukrainian state.

END of RT article

Comment by Daniel Brandt:
" 'If the prosecutor believes that something is wrong in these
publications, he could have come and made edits,' a lawyer
said during the hearings, as quoted by RIA Novosti."

I couldn't stop laughing at that lawyer's statement. Even Slimvirgin
would have laughed with me!

[ericbarbour]

Yeah, that's not unusual for RT "reporters", who are usually stringers that work for other agencies. Their work is usually pretty good---unless something involves Mother Russia somehow. Then the incoherent propagandizing and bias takes over. Whatever Kudryavtsev submitted was probably quite different from what RT actually ran.

A friendly bit of advice for all Putin minions: it's called the Wikimedia Foundation, not "Wikimedia Commons". And they are not in the Russian Federation. You cannot sue or fine them from Moscow, any more than the NSA can get their hands on Edward Snowden. It only makes YOU look stupid. (Obviously they don't care how stupid they look)

[Daniel Brandt]

I believe that Russia Today (RT.com) is government-owned and operated.
That's what Russia was saying when the website first appeared years ago.

I've also heard that the Russian government has the technical means to
block their citizens from seeing internet sites coming in from outside of
Russia.

Question: Will the Wikimedia Foundation pay the fines? I don't see how
they can get away with ignoring Russia, without Russia responding by
blocking Wikipedia from citizens in Russia. I also don't see how the
Wikimedia Foundation can go ahead and pay the fines, given that the
Foundation's board is tight with U.S. intelligence operations such as
the National Endowment for Democracy.

So instead of dismissing this whole thing, it might be better see what
transpires. If they pay the fines, U.S. intelligence gets pissed off. If they
ignore the fines, Russia can pursue other options. This whole thing
could get interesting. Does anyone else smell a setup?