Jewish & World News

In a move that echoes the American anti-Stop Online Piracy Act blackouts from earlier this year, Wikipedia shut down its Russian page on Tuesday in a 24-hour protest against a proposed bill that would grant the Russian government power to blacklist certain Web sites. The Russian page now displays a black “censored” rectangle over the Wikipedia nameplate. A statement warns that the Russian parliament will hold “a second hearing to amend the ‘Law of Information,’ which can lead to the creation of extra-judicial censorship of the Internet in Russia, including the loss of access to Wikipedia in Russian.” The hearing is slated for Wednesday, according to the Guardian.

Wikipedia will go offline on Wednesday in opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act, a bill that would allow the U.S. government to cut off funding sources to foreign websites accused of piracy by rights holders. Wikipedia’s actions will of course have consequences, as internet users around the world realize how helpless they are without the free, user-generated online encyclopedia. Fortunately, workarounds and alternatives are available, so you can still soak up the world’s knowledge while Wikipedia is down.

You might learn something on Wikipedia, if you don't fall asleep first. A new study finds the online, user-generated encyclopedia is more accurate than some previous reports have suggested. But boy, is it boring.