Meta Apologizes to India After Zuckerberg’s Controversial Comment on 2024 Elections Sparks Outrage

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Meta has apologized to India following a controversial comment made by its CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding the 2024 elections. The statement which caused an uproar was made in a post by Zuckerberg on Facebook where he stated that in most countries around the world, governments had lost power after the pandemic. In his comment, he referred to India, suggesting that the government had lost which was factually incorrect. In reality, Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured a third consecutive term in office with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning 240 seats in the Lok Sabha elections alone.

Central Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw raised strong objections on X (formerly Twitter), demanding a response from Meta. He wrote, "In India, 640 million voters participated in the 2024 general elections, reaffirming their trust in the Narendra Modi-led NDA government. Zuckerberg's claim that most governments including India, lost after the pandemic is incorrect." Vaishnaw also highlighted that despite India's rapidly growing economy and the country's aid to other nations during the pandemic, the misinformation spread by Meta was disappointing.

In response, Meta's Vice President of Public Policy, Shivaanth Thukral, acknowledged the error, stating, "Honorable Minister, Mark's comment that most governments did not return in the 2024 general elections was accurate in reference to many countries but it was incorrect in the context of India. We apologize for this oversight." He further emphasized that India is an important country for Meta and the company is committed to its future here. Following Zuckerberg's post, the BJP and the government strongly criticized the comment, and calls for issuing a summons to Zuckerberg had surfaced. However, Meta understood the gravity of the situation and issued an unconditional apology.