Meta India has issued an apology for remarks made by its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, during a podcast, where he suggested that the incumbent government in India lost the 2024 election due to its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The social media giant issued an apology today through its India representative for what it called was an "inadvertent error".
Responding to Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's post fact-checking Zuckerberg’s comment on global elections, Meta India’s vice-president (public policy) Shivanand Thukral stated, "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."
Thukral’s apology followed a strong reaction from BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communication and Information Technology. Dubey had asserted that Meta would be summoned for spreading misinformation regarding Zuckerberg’s remark.
“Misinformation on a democratic country maligns its image. The organisation would have to apologise to the Parliament and the people here for this mistake,” Dubey said in a post on X.
On January 10, during a podcast, Zuckerberg mistakenly linked the Covid pandemic to the defeat of incumbent governments globally, citing India as an example.
"2024 was a very big election year around the world and all these countries, India, had elections. The incumbents basically lost every single one. There is some sort of a global phenomenon - whether it was because of inflation or the economic policies to deal with Covid or just how the governments dealt with Covid. It seems to have had this effect that's global," he said.
Union Minister Vaishnaw promptly fact-checked Zuckerberg’s claim, highlighting that India had reaffirmed its trust in the NDA led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in last year’s Lok Sabha election.
"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. . Zuckerberg's claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect," Vaishnaw stated in a post on X.
"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. Meta, it's disappointing to see misinformation from . Zuckerberg himself. Let's uphold facts and credibility," he added.
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