The post explains the various initiatives the organization is involved in, in India, and other things that are required for it to maintain Wikipedia
In an effort to address comments from users in India, Wikimedia Foundation, the non organization that runs Wikipedia, has reiterated that the crowdsourced encyclopedia isn’t a “commercial website". “We are not driven by profit or advertising incentives. We are a charitable organization supported by the people who read Wikipedia. Our mission is to ensure that everyone, everywhere, can share in and access free knowledge," the company wrote in a blog post.
“Reader donations are critical to supporting Wikipedia’s global presence. To meet the needs of readers in India and around the world, we operate an international technology infrastructure comparable to the world’s largest commercial websites," the foundation wrote in the blog post.
The post explains the various initiatives the organization is involved in, in India, and other things that are required for it to maintain Wikipedia.
The organization had started a campaign in India asking readers for donations to support the website. The request appears whenever an Indian user opens an article on the website, which led some readers to question why the organization is seeking money from readers. Wikipedia is known to be a free source of information, but depends on donations worldwide.
Furthermore, about three days after the campaign started, a social media campaign had begun accusing Wikipedia of being “anti-Hindu". Several high profile Twitter users asked users not to donate to Wikipedia, with allegations that the website is against Hindus and employs anti-Hindu editors.
India accounts for a huge amount of traffic for Wikipedia. According to reports, the website for 700 million views from India in 2019. According to analytics tool SimilarWeb, Wikipedia ranks number 14 amongst the most visited websites in India. The three websites above it include pornographic websites, Xvideos and Xnxx, and WhatsApp.com. Google and YouTube are the top websites in the country, according to SimilarWeb.
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