Screenshot ofGeorgian Wikipedia's Main Page displaying its logo in Ukrainian national colors in February 2022
TheRussian invasion of Ukraine is extensively covered onWikipedia across many languages.[1] This coverage includes articles on and related to the invasion itself, and updates of previously existing articles to take the invasion into account.[1] Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects' coverage of the conflict – and how the volunteer editing community achieved that coverage – has received significant media and government attention.[2][3][4][5]
In Belarus,Russian Wikipedia editorMark Bernstein was arrested after having beendoxxed (having his personal identity revealed) in relation to his editing and writing about the invasion.[8][9] Bernstein was detained in theOkrestina detention center, and received a sentence of restricted freedom for three years in June for "organizing and preparing activities that disrupt social order".[10] Other editors writing about the war have also been targeted by threats on social media after being doxxed.[10]
According toNovaya Gazeta, pro-Kremlin structures related toYevgeny Prigozhin are actively involved in doxing "coordinators of an informational attack on Russia", including Wikipedia editors.Novaya Gazeta also reports thatSpecial Communications Service of Russia (a division of theFederal Protective Service) employees are trying to disseminate pro-Kremlin propaganda by editing Wikipedia articles.[12]
On 31 March, Roskomnadzor demanded that Wikipedia remove any information about the invasion that is "misinforming" Russians, or it could face a fine of up to 4 million rubles (approximately $49,000 or $47,000).[13][14] In June 2022, the Wikimedia Foundation appealed the fine, arguing that people in Russia have the right to access knowledge about the invasion.[15]
In April-May 2022, the Russian authorities put several Wikipedia articles on their list of forbidden sites. The list included the articlesRussian invasion of Ukraine,Rashism,[17] several articles in Russian Wikipedia devoted to the military action and war crimes during theRusso-Ukrainian War,[18] and two sections of the Russian article aboutVladimir Putin.[19]
In May 2022, theWikimedia Foundation was fined 5 million rubles for articles about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia claimed to have uncovered 16.6 million messages spreading "fakes" about the invasion on platforms including Wikipedia.[20] The Wikimedia Foundation appealed the ruling in June, stating the "information at issue is fact-based and verified by volunteers who continuously edit and improve articles on the site; its removal would therefore constitute a violation of people's rights to free expression and access to knowledge."[21]
On 20 July 2022, due to the refusal of Wikipedia to remove the articles about the Russian-Ukrainian war, Roskomnadzor ordered search engines to mark Wikipedia as a violator of Russian laws.[22][23]
On 1 November 2022, theWikimedia Foundation was fined 2 million rubles by a Russian court for not deleting two articles on the Russian Wikipedia.[24]
On 28 February 2023, the Wikimedia Foundation was fined 2 million rubles by a Moscow court for not deleting articles about two brigades of the Russian army and for spreading supposedly unreliable information about the activity of the Russian army inKharkiv,Lysychansk andMariupol during the invasion.[25][26][21] On 6 April 2023, the same court fined the Foundation 800 thousand rubles for not deleting the lyrics of several songs by the rock bandPsychea [ru], which are included in theFederal List of Extremist Materials.[27] On 13 April 2023, the same court fined the Foundation 2 million rubles for not deleting the Russian-language article about theRussian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.[28]
TheWikimedia Foundation released a statement on 1 March 2022, calling for "continued access to free and open knowledge" and for "an immediate and peaceful resolution to the conflict".[29]
