An interesting trend has emerged following the release of the redacted Hema committee report -- the English Wikipedia page of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) has experienced a surge in edits.

In 2024, the page has undergone 149 edits, marking the second-highest number of changes since its creation in November 2007. Notably, 127 of these edits occurred within the past week. On August 27, the page was given semi-protection status for the first time in its history. This status means that anonymous edits are restricted until August 30.

 

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Semi-protection status is typically given when there are edit wars. An edit war arises when multiple anonymous editors repeatedly alter each other’s contributions to an article, leading to a cycle of reversions. This practice, often labelled as "vandalism" on Wikipedia, involves "deliberately disruptive or harmful editing" of a page. Such actions may include removing content or altering it to be intentionally biased, defamatory, offensive or degrading.

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Manoj Karingamadathil, a Wikipedia activist based in Thrissur, noted that the netizen behaviour observed is common during controversial events. "Some aim to add perspectives, while others use it for spamming or misinformation. Semi-protection ensures anonymous contributions are on hold, and only autoconfirmed users (with authorisations) are allowed to edit."

According to Wikipedia, "Semi-protection is a measure commonly used on Wikipedia to safeguard popular pages from vandalism or editing disputes. A semi-protected article can only be edited by accounts that are at least 4 days old and have made at least 10 edits (autoconfirmed users)."

Curious case of the Malayalam Wikipedia page for AMMA

Interestingly, the Malayalam Wikipedia page for AMMA is not only free from vandalism but also lacks contributors. Despite the common perception that Malayalam films attract significant attention on the Malayalam Wikipedia, the page’s inactivity highlights a broader issue: a shortage of Malayalam-language contributors.

Crisis at AMMA

Top actor Mohanlal and other leaders of AMMA resigned on Tuesday following serious allegations of sexual abuse made by several women actors against well-known figures in Malayalam cinema, such as director Ranjith and actors Siddique and Mukesh. These accusations emerged after a report by Justice K Hema exposed harassment in the industry released on August 19. The resignations, including Mohanlal’s as president, were made after an online meeting where the leaders decided to step down, accepting moral responsibility for the situation.