Meta apologizes for Zuckerberg's 'inadvertent error' on 2024 Indian elections
What's the story
Meta, Instagram's parent company, has apologized after CEO Mark Zuckerberg mistakenly commented on the 2024 Indian elections. The statement comes after India's Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw expressed disappointment over Zuckerberg's comments in a post on social media platform X. Vaishnaw stressed that India, the world's largest democracy, successfully conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters reaffirming their trust in PM Narendra Modi-led NDA government.
Misinformation challenged
Vaishnaw refutes Zuckerberg's claims about Indian elections
Vaishnaw contested Zuckerberg's assertion that most incumbent governments (including India in 2024 elections) lost post-COVID. The minister highlighted the government's efforts during the pandemic, such as providing free food for 800 million people and distributing 2.2 billion free vaccines. He also noted India's role in aiding nations worldwide during COVID-19 and its status as the fastest-growing major economy under PM Modi's decisive third-term victory.
Apology issued
Meta acknowledges error, reaffirms commitment to India
Responding to Vaishnaw's post, Meta's Vice President of Public Policy, Shivanth Thukral, acknowledged the mistake in Zuckerberg's observation about the 2024 elections. Thukral said while many incumbent parties were not re-elected in several countries, that wasn't the case for India. He apologized for the oversight and reiterated Meta's commitment to India as an incredibly important country for their future innovations.
Twitter Post
Take a look at Thukral's post
Dear Honourable Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw , 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…
— Shivnath Thukral (@shivithukral) January 14, 2025
Summon anticipated
Zuckerberg's comments spark potential parliamentary action
Zuckerberg's remarks during his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience hinted at a loss of faith in incumbent governments amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He specifically named India among countries where incumbents were defeated in the 2024 elections. This prompted a Parliamentary committee to summon Meta over the 'factually incorrect' statement. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, Chairman of the panel on Communication and Information Technology, said his committee will summon Meta for spreading incorrect information.
Policy shift
Meta's fact-checking policy change stirs controversy
The controversy over Zuckerberg's comments comes after Meta recently decided to ditch third-party fact-checking in the US. Instead, the company will use a model called "Community Notes," where regular users are assigned the job of debunking falsehoods. The move has been condemned by US President Joe Biden, who called it shameful.