Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw strongly rejected Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s remarks about India’s 2024 General Elections.
In the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Zuckerberg had suggested that most incumbent governments worldwide, including India, lost elections in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic—a claim Vaishnaw called “factually incorrect.”
Here’s What Zuckerberg Said
In the podcast, Zuckerberg said, “I kind of think that the reaction to COVID probably caused a breakdown of trust in a lot of governments around the world. 2024 was a big election year, and there are all these countries, India included, where the incumbents basically lost every single one.”
“2024 was a big election year around the world and all these countries, including India, had elections. The incumbents basically lost every single one. There is some sort of a global phenomenon—whether it was because of inflation or the economic policies to deal with covid or or just how the governments dealt with covid. It seems to have had this effect that’s global,” he said.
Union Minister vaishnaw’s Response
Vaishnaw responded forcefully on social media platform X, pointing out that India, the world’s largest democracy, conducted its 2024 elections with over 640 million voters, reaffirming public trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
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.
Mr. Zuckerberg’s claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections,…
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) January 13, 2025
“From free food for 800 million people, 2.2 billion free vaccines, and aid to nations worldwide during COVID, to leading India as the fastest-growing major economy, PM Modi’s decisive third-term victory is a testament to good governance and public trust,” Vaishnaw wrote in his post. He added that Zuckerberg’s comments misrepresented facts and undermined India’s democratic process.
Vaishnaw also expressed disappointment in Meta, urging the social media giant to prioritize “facts and credibility.” “It’s disappointing to see misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself,” he added.
Zuckerberg’s comments have sparked wider conversations about Meta’s role in combating misinformation globally. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has announced significant changes to its fact-checking policies.
The company is shifting away from partnerships with professional fact-checking organizations in favor of a new system called “Community Notes,” similar to the approach implemented on Elon Musk-owned X.
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