The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has reportedly summoned Wikipedia – a multilingual free online encyclopedia – after Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh‘s Wikipedia page entry was changed to reflect Khalistan association.
According to media reports, the changes were made following India’s five-wicket loss to Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday, with the word India replaced by Khalistan at numerous places on the page. Further, the name of the cricketer was changed twice, and several changes were made to his cricket stats.
The report also disclosed the user’s IP address, which was allocated to the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) – Pakistan’s national telecoms provider (the equivalent of India’s BSNL).
“No intermediary operating in India can permit this type of misinformation n deliberate efforts to incitement n #userharm – violates our govts expectation of a Safe & Trusted Internet #wikipedia @GoI_MeitY #SafeTrustedInternet,” tweeted India’s Electronics & Technology minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
No intermerdiary operatng in India can permit this type of misinformation n deliberate efforts to incitement n #userharm – violates our govts expectation of Safe & Trusted Internet #wikipedia @GoI_MeitY #SafeTrustedInternet pic.twitter.com/Qm6HdppM1k
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) September 5, 2022
Notably, Arshdeep was brutally trolled by fans on social media after he dropped an easy catch in a crunch situation, which took the game away from India’s hold, resulting in a 5-wicket defeat.
After the game, Kohli had come out in support of Arshdeep, mentioning anyone can make mistakes in a high-pressure match, and it is essential to learn from them and move on.
“Anyone can make mistakes under pressure. It was a big game, and the situation was also tight. I remember when I played my first game against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, I played a bad shot against Shahid Afridi and got out, I couldn’t sleep and was just staring at the ceiling till 5 in the morning. I thought I was never going to play again. It is natural to feel bad,” said Kohli in the post-match press conference.