In a significant development, Meta, the social media giant, has apologized to the Indian government for its Co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s remarks on the 2024 General Elections. The company termed Zuckerberg’s comments as an “inadvertent error” and reaffirmed that India remains an “important country” for them.
The apology comes after Zuckerberg’s remarks in a recent podcast, where he claimed that most incumbent governments across democracies saw erosion of public trust during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to their ouster in the 2024 elections. However, Union Minister for I&B and Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, fact-checked Zuckerberg’s statements, pointing out that last year’s elections in India were a reaffirmation of people’s trust in PM Modi-led NDA for a record third time.
Indian Government’s Response
Vaishnaw slammed Zuckerberg’s remarks, advising Meta and its chief to uphold facts and truth. “Meta, it’s disappointing to see misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself. Let’s uphold facts and credibility,” Vaishnaw wrote. Nishikant Dubey, BJP MP and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, announced that the Parliamentary panel would soon serve a notice to Meta for “spreading misinformation” and seek an apology.
Meta’s Apology
In a post on X social media platform, Meta India apologized for the “inadvertent error” and clarified that Mark’s observation about incumbent parties not being re-elected in 2024 elections holds true for several countries, but not India. “We would like to apologize 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,” the company wrote.