'Inadvertent error', Meta apologises over Mark Zuckerberg's comment on 2024 general elections
Zuckerberg, while speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, said that COVID may have caused a breakdown in trust in many governments around the world and in 2024, which saw elections in many countries, incumbent governments, including the one in India, lost.
Shivnath Thukral, the Vice President of Meta India's Public Policy, has apologised for the remarks made by Mark Zuckerberg about the 2024 general election results. Thukral termed Zuckerberg's comments an "inadvertent error".
His response came after Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw called out the Meta CEO for spreading misinformation about the 2024 election results.
CREDIT: ANI
Ashwini Vaishnaw calls out Zuckerberg
"Zuckerberg¡¯s claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect," Vaishnaw had said.
"Meta, it¡¯s disappointing to see misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself. Let¡¯s uphold facts and credibility," the minister added.
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.
¡ª Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) January 13, 2025
Mr. Zuckerberg¡¯s claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections,¡
What Zuckerberg said
Zuckerberg, while speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, said that COVID may have caused a breakdown in trust in many governments around the world and in 2024, which saw elections in many countries, incumbent governments, including the one in India, lost.
Zuckerberg's comments land Meta in trouble
Zuckerberg's comment, however, did not go down well, and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology issued a summons to Meta.
CREDIT: AP
"Misinformation in any democratic country tarnishes its image. The organisation will have to apologise to the Indian Parliament and the people for this mistake," BJP MP and the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee said.
TMC MP Saket Gokhale, who is also a member of the committee, added that if Meta executives are summoned, they should be questioned about the company's decision to stop fact-checking and changes in its content guidelines on hate speech and disinformation.
CREDIT: REUTERS
What Meta India top official said
Responding to Vaishnaw's post on X, Thukral said, "Mark's observation that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in 2024 elections holds true for several countries, BUT not India."
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¡
¡ª Shivnath Thukral (@shivithukral) January 14, 2025
"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," he added.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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