Meta India has apologised for its CEO Mark Zuckerberg's inaccurate statement that the Indian government lost the 2024 election due to its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. This "inadvertent error," as Meta India's vice president Shivnath Thukral called it, sparked a strong response from Indian officials and the statement made in public.
Thukral addressed the issue directly, stating on X (formerly Twitter) that "Mark's observation that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in 2024 elections holds true for several countries. We would like to apologize for this inadvertent error."
He also underscored India's significance to Meta, saying, "India remains an incredibly important country for Meta, and we look forward to being at the heart of its innovative future."
This apology came after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who leads the parliamentary committee on communications and information technology, announced his intention to summon Meta over Zuckerberg's misleading claim. Dubey emphasized the damage that misinformation can cause, stating that "incorrect information tarnishes the image of any democratic country." He also demanded an apology from Meta to the Indian Parliament and the people of India.
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw added his voice to the criticism, calling out Zuckerberg for his "erroneous assertion" and expressing disappointment over the spread of misinformation. Vaishnaw highlighted the strength of India's democracy, stating, "As the world's largest democracy, India conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. The people of India reaffirmed their trust in the NDA led by PM Narendra Modi's leadership. Mr. Zuckerberg's claim that most incumbent governments, including India in the 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect."
