Centre Reaches Out To Wikipedia After Arshdeep Singh's Page Vandalised

The Ministry of Electronics & IT today summoned executives from Wikipedia to explain how fake information on cricketer Arshdeep Singh's page linking him to the separatist Khalistani movement was published on the website, several reports said quoting government sources. However, the crowdsourced digital encyclopaedia denied any summons by the Ministry, saying only an email was sent to the Wikimedia Foundation -- the US-based non-profit that operates Wikipedia.

Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a tweet said the vandalism of Mr Singh's page violates the government's expectation of a safe and trusted internet.

"No intermediary operating in India can permit this type of misinformation (a)n(d) deliberate efforts to incitement (a)n(d) user harm - violates our govts expectations of safe and trusted internet," he said.

Meanwhile, a senior IT Ministry official told news agency PTI that a notice was sent to Wikipedia around the afternoon for the removal of the false content.

Another official told PTI that after the vandalisation issue came to light, the government took a serious view of the matter and summoning of executives was considered.

"The Wikimedia Foundation, the US-based non-profit that operates Wikipedia has been made aware by the Indian Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology of the vandalism that took place on the Wikipedia page of Indian cricketer, Arshdeep Singh. The Wikipedia page of the cricketer was vandalized with false claims on September 4, however the wrongful edits were removed within minutes by Wikipedia's volunteer community. Right now, the article on English Wikipedia is semi-protected (which allows edits by only trusted users) to restrict further vandalism on the page," the foundation said in a statement.

The Centre believes this disinformation could disturb communal harmony and also lead to a law and order situation for the cricketer's family, according to media reports.

Mr Singh faced vitriolic attacks on social media by some users after he dropped a crucial catch in a thrilling Super 4 Asia Cup clash between India and Pakistan on Sunday.

According to the edit history of Mr Singh's Wikipedia page, an unregistered user replaced the words "India" with "Khalistan" at several locations on the profile, but these changes were undone within 15 minutes by Wikipedia editors.

"Vandalism does occur on Wikipedia from time to time, as can occur in any open, online platform. It is a violation of the trust and good faith of our editors and readers, and runs contrary to the values on which Wikipedia is based. The majority of vandalism on Wikipedia is reverted by bots or editors within minutes, as was done in this recent case," the Wikimedia Foundation further said.

India pacer Arshdeep Singh dropped a relatively easy catch of Asif Ali in the 18th over, which led to a massive momentum shift in the keenly watched match.

Pakistan went on to win the match by five wickets.

India batter and former team captain Virat Kohli backed the young bowler, saying anyone can make mistakes in a high-pressure game, and it is important to learn from them and move on.

Support poured in from several former cricketers who condemned the vicious trolling of Mr Singh. Fans have also come out in support of the young Indian pacer.

In the 18th over, which was bowled by Ravi Bishnoi, Pakistan needed 34 runs with Khushdil Shah and Asif Ali on the crease. On the third delivery, Asif Ali played a sweep shot and the ball went into the air and looked like an easy take for Arshdeep Singh. However, the ball went through his hands and the catch was dropped.

Arshdeep Singh was then chosen to bowl the final over, but was unable to defend seven runs.