Wikimedia Foundation Sued for Defamation by A4M

In 2009, The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) and its co-founders Robert M. Goldman and Ronald M. Klatz sued Wikimedia Foundation and ten anonymous posters for defamation in New York state court over comments appearing on A4M’s Wikipedia page.

In their complaint, plaintiffs allege that anonymous posters published statements disparaging their scientific qualifications and medical credentials and implying that they were implicated in illegal trafficking of human growth hormones and anabolic steroids. The complaint purports to include Wikimedia “solely as a nominal Defendant,” and A4M seeks to identify the anonymous posters through discovery. 

See American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine v. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. No. 0911197 (Filed Aug. 9, 2009).