Top editor of Russian Wikipedia arrested

Belarusian news agency Zerkalo reported that 'the top editor of Russian Wikipedia has been arrested by Belarusian authorities.' The editors arrested are alleged to have violated Russia's new 'fake news law.'

В Беларуси задержали Марка Бернштейна — активиста и популяризатора интернет-энциклопедии Wikipedia.
https://news.zerkalo.io/life/11113.html

A top Wikipedia editor has been arrested in Belarus --The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/11/22973293/wikipedia-editor-russia-belarus-ukraine

Mark Bernstein, a well-known editor of Russian Wikipedia, was newly arrested on suspicion of violating the Fake News Act. He was one of the top 50 editers on Russian Wikipedia, and was also known for his contributions to patrols of descriptions that violated local rules.

According to media reports, Bernstein was arrested by GUBOPik, Belarus's organization crime control authority, for violating Russia's new 'fake news law.' In addition to personal information such as Mr. Bernstein's photo, social media ID, work place, editor ID used in Wikipedia, GUBOPik also released the movie at the time of Mr. Bernstein's arrest on the official Telegram channel. It seems that the photo contained a sentence saying, 'Fake anti-Russian information was disseminated.'

Zerkalo, who delivered the first report, reports that Mr. Bernstein was arrested for editing this article on the invasion of Ukraine, but the information released by GUBOPik specifically states which action is in the fake news law. It is not stated if there was a conflict. The Russian Wikipedia Telegram channel announces that users in Belarus and Russia should hide their personal data and change their account before editing articles about the war.

Russia passed a law on March 7, 2022 that would impose up to 15 years' imprisonment if authorities ruled it as 'fake news,' and the Federal Communications, Information Technology and Media Fields Regulatory Agency on Wikipedia. In response, the invasion of Ukraine page reportedly issued a notice to block Wikipedia because it describes the number of Russian military casualties and how civilians are being killed in Ukraine.

Roskomnadzor (Russian censorship agency) has threatened to block all of Wikipedia from Russia due to its 'Russian Invasion into Ukraine' article. Their main gripes : it lists Russian soldier casualty figures and describes how Ukrainian civilians / children are being killed. /t.co/BvjttdEHrP

— Aric Toler (@AricToler) March 1, 2022

A spokeswoman for the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, responded to the incident by saying, 'The Foundation's Trust, Security and Human Rights team has been monitoring the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. To ensure security and respond to needs. , We are in close contact with the community in this area. '