The Centre has issued a notice to Wikipedia, highlighting numerous complaints about bias and inaccuracies on the platform, according to PTI. In its communication, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry questioned why Wikipedia should not be regarded as a publisher rather than an intermediary when actions are initiated. The notice also expressed a concern that a small group seems to exercise editorial control over the platform's content.

Wikipedia is currently involved in a legal dispute with the news agency Asian News International (ANI) over allegations of publishing “defamatory” content. ANI contends that a section in its Wikipedia description falsely characterises the agency as “a propaganda tool for the incumbent government” and accuses it of “distributing material from fake news websites.” ANI has demanded that the page be removed.

On September 5, the Delhi High Court issued a contempt notice to Wikipedia, strongly objecting to its failure to provide information on the users responsible for making these edits to ANI’s entry page.

Frustrated by Wikipedia’s non-compliance in a defamation case filed by the news agency, the Delhi High Court warned the platform that if it was unwilling to follow its orders, it should consider ceasing operations in India. The court added that it could request the central government to block Wikipedia in the country.

In August, the court had directed Wikipedia to reveal the identities of the users responsible for the allegedly defamatory edits to ANI’s page, cautioning that the platform could face a shutdown in India if it failed to comply.

The news website OpIndia has released a dossier accusing Wikipedia of conducting a campaign against India. The dossier claims that a small group of individuals globally controls all the content on Wikipedia, with only a select few having the final authority on what information is included or excluded from the platform.

“There exists a formal business association between Google and Wikimedia with Google giving millions in grants to Wikimedia Foundation. With Google using Wikipedia to generate knowledge panels, the slanderous content on Wikipedia essentially becomes a fact sheet for the relevant public person and/or organisation. Most of the time such contentious pages about public persons and organisations are locked – which is to say that only a handful of editors and administrators would be able to edit it," the dossier adds.

The dossier makes the following recommendations:

1. Designate Wikimedia as a publisher rather than an intermediary, citing its clear editorial stance, the payment to editors and administrators, and the fact that a small, select group—many of whom are paid—controls content and determines Wikipedia’s editorial direction.
2. Investigate Wikimedia's financial activities, as it lacks a physical presence in India but invests millions to advance its business interests within the country.
3. Assess Wikipedia's operations under the Competition Act, 2002.
4. Develop a browser extension that flags biased content on Wikipedia pages.