Meta To Be Summoned By Indian Parliamentary Panel Over Zuckerberg’s Remarks On 2024 Elections

Meta, the social media giant, is set to be summoned by India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communication and Information Technology following CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s controversial remarks about India’s 2024 general elections.

The committee, chaired by BJP MP Dr. Nishikant Dubey, has announced that it will summon the tech titan for spreading misinformation in response to Zuckerberg’s incorrect statement about India’s political situation in a podcast.

Zuckerberg’s remarks on Lok Sabha Elections 2024

In a podcast with Joe Rogan on January 10, Mark Zuckerberg discussed the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, claiming that it led to a widespread erosion of trust in incumbent governments across the world.

He cited India as an example, stating that the Indian government lost the 2024 elections due to its handling of the pandemic. “2024 was a very big election year around the world, and all these countries, including India, had elections. The incumbents basically lost every single one,” Zuckerberg said.

However, the claim was quickly debunked by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who responded on social media, pointing out that India’s 2024 elections did not follow the narrative Zuckerberg suggested. Vaishnaw emphasized that India’s citizens had reaffirmed their trust in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He also highlighted the success of the Modi government’s pandemic response, including providing free food to over 800 million people, distributing 2.2 billion vaccines, and aiding countries worldwide during the crisis.

The Parliamentary Panel’s Response

Dr. Nishikant Dubey, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communication and Information Technology, expressed deep concern in response to Zuckerberg’s comments. He stated that spreading misinformation about a democratic nation tarnishes its image, and Meta would be held accountable.“My committee will call @Meta for this wrong information. Wrong information in any democratic country tarnishes the image of the country. That organization will have to apologize to the Indian Parliament and the people here for this mistake,” Dr. Dubey wrote in a post on X.

The summoning of Meta by the parliamentary panel demonstrates how seriously the Indian government takes the dissemination of false information. The committee wants to hold Meta responsible for what it perceives as an effort to distort India’s political circumstances and erode public confidence in the nation’s democratic processes by responding to Zuckerberg’s comments.

Union Minister’s Fact-Check

Ashwini Vaishnaw’s fact-check not only refuted Zuckerberg’s claim but also provided a detailed account of the Modi government’s achievements in the aftermath of the pandemic. The minister highlighted the NDA’s decisive victory in the 2024 elections, marking the third consecutive term for Prime Minister Modi. Vaishnaw pointed out that the election involved over 640 million voters, and the people of India had expressed their confidence in the leadership of the NDA.

In his post, Vaishnaw urged Meta to uphold facts and credibility. “It is disappointing to see misinformation from Zuckerberg himself. Let’s uphold facts and credibility,” he wrote, stressing the importance of accurate information, particularly when it comes from influential global figures like Zuckerberg.

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