Meta India Vice President (Public Policy) Shivnath Thukral has reacted to the comments being made by its founder Mark Zuckerberg on the 2024 general elections in India.
Thukral's reaction came after Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav's tweet, in which the minister had termed Zuckerberg's claim as factually incorrect.
Vaishnav tweeted, “As the world's largest democracy, India contests the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. The people of India reaffirmed their faith in NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr. Zuckerberg's claim that most of the current governments including India lost in the 2024 elections post-Covid, is factually incorrect.
From free food for 800 million people, 2.2 billion free vaccines and aid to countries around the world during Covid to propelling India as the fastest growing major economy, PM Modi's decisive third-term victory is a testament to good governance and the people. It is a proof of faith. Meta, it's disappointing to see misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself.
Let’s maintain facts and credibility.” Thukral responded, saying, “Mark’s observation that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in the 2024 elections is true for many countries, but not for India. We would like to apologize for this unintentional mistake. India remains an incredibly important country for META and we look forward to being at the center of its innovative future.”
Earlier, news reports said the social media giant was set to be summoned by a parliamentary panel for his comments
This information was shared by BJP MP and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, Nishikant Dubey. The BJP MP said the parliamentary panel under him would soon issue a notice to Meta for “spreading misinformation” and seek an apology.
Taking note of Zuckerberg's objectionable comments, Nishikant Dubey said, “Misinformation in any democratic country tarnishes its image. The organization will have to apologize to the Indian Parliament and people for this mistake.”
In a recent podcast, Zuckerberg claimed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, most existing governments in democracies have seen public trust eroded, ultimately leading to their ouster in the 2024 elections.
Speaking to podcaster Joe Rogan, Mark Zuckerberg said, “2024 was a huge election year around the world and there were elections in all these countries, India. Incumbent governments lost basically every single election. There is some kind of global phenomenon – whether it is because of inflation or because of the economic policies to deal with Covid or how governments have dealt with Covid. “It seems to have had a global impact – not just in the US but on many existing governments in other countries,” he said in the podcast.
Zuckerberg's generalized statement on the 2024 elections was quickly responded to by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, who described it as “factually incorrect”.
Fact-checking his statements, the Union Minister said that the elections held in India last year were an affirmation of people's confidence in the PM Modi-led NDA for a record third time. He said, “PM Modi's decisive victory for the third time is a proof of good governance and public trust.” He also gave an advice to Meta and its chief, urging them to stick to facts and truth. He wrote, “Meta, it is disappointing to see misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself. Let’s maintain facts and credibility.”
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