The Wikimedia Foundation said on Thursday that it has not received any official notice from the Indian government pertaining to its content.

The statement from the Wikimedia Foundation comes days after reports citing government sources, reported that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had issued a notice to Wikipedia casting aspersions about bias and inaccuracies in its articles. However, there was no official communication from the Indian government on the matter.

According to the alleged notice, the Government of India questioned Wikipedia over multiple complaints about bias and inaccuracies on the platform. The government in its alleged letter to Wikipedia noted that a small group of editors appears to have significant control over the contents, particularly influencing its neutrality. 

The government also questioned why Wikipedia should not be classified as a publisher, rather than an intermediary.

In a statement, the platform spokesperson said: “The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit that operates Wikipedia, has not received any official notice from the Indian government regarding editing practices or the accuracy of content on Wikipedia in the last two days.”

The statement further noted that Wikipedia volunteers carefully curate information from reliable news sources and other reputable external publications and they don’t add original content to the site.  

It added that such an approach ensures that Wikipedia compiles information from credible sources. “All sources are cited on article pages, upholding our commitment to transparency,” said the spokesperson.

“More than 850 million Indians visit the site every month, the fifth highest in the world,” the statement said. “Globally, more than 260,000 volunteers contribute content to the site,” the statement added.

It also mentioned that Indian Wikipedia editors are constantly ranked as “one of the top number of contributing editors from a single country globally.

Furthermore, the statement said that the platform articles are required by its editorial policies to maintain a neutral point of view, adding volunteers from many backgrounds and political persuasions to edit Wikipedia.

“This model reinforces that Wikipedia articles present a broad view of knowledge about a topic, rather than any one perspective,” the spokesperson said.

This development occurs alongside ongoing legal proceedings involving WF in a defamation lawsuit filed by news agency ANI regarding its Wikipedia page, which describes the news agency as a “propaganda tool for the incumbent government.” In its lawsuit, ANI has requested the identities of three anonymous editors who made changes to the page. It’s important to note that WF has no physical presence in India.

The Mumbai police recently received a call from a person threatening to kill Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and demanded Rs 50 lakh from him. The phone call was received from a mobile number registered in the name of one Faizan Khan from Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Reportedly, a case was filed at the Bandra Police Station on Thursday.

The Police have interrogated a man, identified as Faizan Khan, in connection with the death threat. Nonetheless, during questioning, Khan claimed he was an advocate and his phone was stolen on November 2, reports said. He also claimed that he had filed a complaint regarding it and someone misused it to threaten Shah Rukh Khan.

Reports also stated that the caller told the police to call him Hindustani when he was questioned about his identity and location. The call was received on November 5 at around 1.20 pm.

The Bollywood actor had also received a death threat in October last year, following which his security was amplified to the Y+ level. This security ensures he is accompanied by six armed personnel around the clock. Earlier he had two security personnel, also armed, accompanying him.

The death threat to the Jawan star comes days after Salman Khan received a threat from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which has been targeting Salman over his alleged involvement in the killing of a black buck. The gang said that the actor should either visit a temple and apologise for allegedly killing a black buck or pay Rs 5 crore instead.

Later a man, identified as Bhikharam Jalaram Bishnoi was arrested in Karnataka for issuing the threat to Salman Khan. The Mumbai Police’s Traffic Control unit said that they received a message from a person claiming to be gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother on Monday, who said Salman Khan would be killed if he didn’t do what he was told.

Salman Khan also received a similar death threat from an unknown person on October 30, who had demanded a Rs 2 crore ransom from him. His security cover was amped up following the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique on October 12. Baba Siddique was killed outside his son’s office when he was bursting firecrackers on the occasion of Dussehra.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday extended his greetings to people on Chhath Sandhya Arghya in Chhath festival.

In a post in Hindi on X, PM Modi said: “My best wishes to all of you on the holy occasion of Chhath Sandhya Arghya. May this great festival, a symbol of simplicity, restraint, determination and dedication, bring happiness, prosperity and good fortune in everyone’s life. Jai Chhathi Maiya!”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also extended his wishes on the occasion of Chhath Puja and said Indians living in different parts of the country and abroad are celebrating the Chhath festival with great enthusiasm and faith.

“Jai Chhathi Maiyya! Happy Chhath Puja to everyone. Indians living in different parts of the country and abroad are celebrating Chhath festival with great enthusiasm and faith. I wish everyone happiness, peace and prosperity on this holy festival of Surya worship. May Chhathi Maiya keep her blessings on everyone,” Shah said in Hindi on X.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also extended his greetings to the people on Chhath Puja and expressed his hope that the festival would bring new energy and strength to everyone’s lives.

“Heartiest greetings on Chhath Puja, the great festival of sun worship and folk faith. I hope this festival brings new energy and strength in the lives of all of you,” Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav extended greetings on the occasion and prayed for everyone’s life to be filled with success, blessed with the achievement of all goals and with the constant blessing of success in life.

“Heartiest greetings to all the countrymen on the great festival of folk faith and sun worship, Chhath Puja. With folded hands, I pray to Maa that this holy festival brings happiness, peace, glory, prosperity and well-being to everyone. Jai Chhathi Maa,” he said in a post in Hindi on X.

In another post,  Yadav said: “May you have the taste of the Thekua, may you have the blessings of the Almighty God, with this auspicious wish, heartiest wishes to all the countrymen and people of Bihar on the occasion of Chhath Mahaparva, which is known as an integral part of the culture of Bihar, which shows the qualities of strength and patience of women, the whole of Bihar shines with the light of its celebration.”

Earlier on the day of Kharna, Yadav shared pictures of him celebrating the occasion with his family members including RJD chief Lal Prasad Yadav and sister and party MLA Misa Bharti.

“The Kharna Prasad prepared by the mothers and sisters observing Chhath is awaited throughout the year. Today, people went to the houses of many party workers and well-wishers and received the prasad of Chhathi Maiya,” he wrote in Hindi on X.

The four-day Chhath puja began on Tuesday with Nahay-Khay. Chhath Puja is celebrated in different parts of the country and is a major festival in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The festival starts with Nahay-Khay on the Chaturthi Tithi of Kartik Shukla Paksha, focusing on purification and preparation. This is followed by Kharna on Panchami Tithi, Chhath Puja on Sashti, and concludes with Usha Arghya on Saptami Tithi.