Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms Inc. tendered an apology over founder Mark Zuckerberg's comment that governments across the world, including India, lost the trust of their electorate in the elections held during 2024 in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shivnath Thukral, Meta's director of public policy, India and South Asia, apologised in an X post tagging Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
"Dear Honourable Minister (Ashwini Vaishnaw), Mark's observation that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in 2024 elections holds true for several countries, BUT not India. We would like to apologise for this inadvertent error. India remains an incredibly important country for (Meta) and we look forward to being at the heart of its innovative future."
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In a recent episode of the famous 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast, the Meta CEO had clubbed India with a list of countries where incumbent governments lost their last respective elections. Vaishnaw later called out Zuckerberg on his observation.
As the world's largest democracy, India conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. People of India reaffirmed their trust in NDA led by PM @narendramodi Ji's leadership.
January 13, 2025
Mr. Zuckerberg's claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections,…Vaishnav's post said, "As the world's largest democracy, India conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. People of India reaffirmed their trust in NDA led by PM (Narendra Modi) Ji's leadership."
"Mr. Zuckerberg's claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect. From free food for 800 million, 2.2 billion free vaccines, and aid to nations worldwide during Covid, to leading India as the fastest-growing major economy, PM Modi's decisive 3rd-term victory is a testament to good governance and public trust, he added. "(Meta), it's disappointing to see misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself. Let's uphold facts and credibility."
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communication and Information Technology is planning to summon Meta following Zuckerberg's remarks on the 2024 Indian general elections.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey, who chairs the panel, shared the plans in a social media post. "My committee will call (Meta) for this wrong information. Wrong information in any democratic country tarnishes the image of the country. That organisation will have to apologise to the Indian Parliament and the people here for this mistake."
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