India’s Parliamentary panel to summon Meta over Zuckerberg’s 2024 election remarks

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey to summon Meta over Mark Zuckerberg’s India poll remark

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, head of the parliamentary committee on communications and information technology, announced plans to summon Meta over comments made by its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Dubey took issue with Zuckerberg’s statement suggesting that India’s incumbent government lost the 2024 elections due to its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BJP MP condemns alleged misinformation

In a post on X, Dubey criticized Zuckerberg for spreading what he described as misinformation, stating, “My committee will summon Meta for this misinformation. Incorrect information tarnishes the image of any democratic country. The organization will have to apologize to the Indian Parliament and the people of this country for this mistake.”

Zuckerberg’s controversial remarks

During a podcast discussing global post-Covid trends, Zuckerberg commented on a decline in public trust in governments worldwide. He suggested that many incumbent governments, including India, lost elections in 2024 due to economic and social challenges stemming from the pandemic.

“It’s not just the US… A ton of countries that had elections [in 2024] saw incumbents lose. Whether it was due to inflation, economic policies, or how governments dealt with Covid, there seems to be a global decrease in trust,” Zuckerberg said.

Union Minister counters Zuckerberg’s claim

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw refuted Zuckerberg’s assertion, calling it an “erroneous statement” and highlighting the NDA government’s victory in the 2024 elections under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

“As the world’s largest democracy, India conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. The people reaffirmed their trust in the NDA led by PM Modi. Mr. Zuckerberg’s claim that most incumbent governments, including India, lost post-Covid is factually incorrect,” Vaishnaw wrote on X.

Highlighting India’s pandemic response

Vaishnaw praised the Modi government’s management of the pandemic, citing initiatives like providing free food for 800 million people, administering 2.2 billion free vaccines, and extending aid to other nations. He also noted India’s status as the fastest-growing major economy under Modi’s leadership, which he said contributed to the NDA’s decisive victory.

“It’s disappointing to see misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself. Let’s uphold facts and credibility,” the minister added, urging Meta to ensure accuracy in its statements.

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