Russia Bans Wikipedia Because Of This One, Single Article

by Austin Petersen

By Ivan Plis

Russia’s Internet oversight agency said Monday that in order to block a contested article about drugs, it would have to block all of Wikipedia.

In the announcement, the government body said that if Wikipedia would not willingly block a Russian-language article about charas, a marijuana product, it would have no other choice than to block access to the entire web site in Russia. The agency is widely known by the Russian abbreviation Roskomnadzor. (RELATED: How Internet Sleuths Tracked Putin Spokesman’s $426,000 Yacht Ride)

The article previously included a description of how the cannabis product is made, which was deemed ”illegal information” by Russian federal anti-drug police. In a similar move earlier this month, Russia briefly blocked Reddit over a discussion thread about how to grow hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Wikipedia does not take down individual articles except by user consensus. It uses the HTTPS security protocol, which means pages on its domain cannot be blocked individually. These two policies mean that Roskomnadzor will almost inevitably wind up blocking the entire encyclopedia.

The most recent dispute over the Russian-language edition of Wikipedia arose in June, when a regional court issued an order to block the article in question. Wikipedia’s editors side-stepped the request by changing the article’s URL.

But this does not seem to have been enough for the Kremlin’s censors. According to Wikipedia’s representatives, the site has no intention of removing HTTPS either, saying that “no government agency or internet provider should know which articles Wikipedia users are reading.” (RELATED: US Pressure Leads 6 In 10 Russians To Buy Cheaper Groceries)

The site’s social media outlets are also preparing Russian Wikipedia users for a possible crackdown. On Twitter, @ru_wikipedia spent most of Monday publishing advice, promoting a service that distributes offline copies of Wikipedia and distributing a guide for “what to do when they block Wikipedia.”

Follow Ivan Plis on Twitter

Austin Petersen is a homegrown Missourian with a lifelong passion for liberty. He grew up on a horse farm in Peculiar, Missouri and went on to attend Missouri State University, graduating with a degree in the Fine Arts. After developing a career in media in both New York City and Washington, D.C., he returned to Kansas City, MO, the city he now calls home. In 2016, Petersen appeared on the national stage as a candidate for president of the United States. He took second place in the crowded Libertarian primary behind Governor Gary Johnson and ahead of cyber security maverick John McAfee. During his campaign, Petersen earned many high-profile conservative endorsements, including Mary Matalin, Erick Erickson and Leon Wolf of RedState.com. Petersen also brings decades of professional experience in a wide variety of fields, from content production and media to business and political activism. He is the owner and chief executive of Stonegait LLC, a consulting firm specializing in photo and video services. He was also the director of production at FreedomWorks and an associate producer for Judge Andrew Napolitano’s show “Freedom Watch” on the Fox Business Network. Additionally, Petersen has a national following as a commentator and professional pundit. He is the founder of The Libertarian Republic, a powerful online news source for the public that receives an average of 1 million unique visits monthly and whose podcast, The Freedom Report, receives an average of one million monthly downloads. He is also a frequent contributor on television, appearing on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, MSNBC and on dozens of local radio shows.

1 comment

super kaya 88 rtp December 23, 2023 at 7:55 am

… [Trackback]

[…] Find More to that Topic: thelibertarianrepublic.com/russia-bans-wikipedia-because-of-this-one-single-article/ […]

Leave a Comment