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Meta India has apologized for a statement made by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who incorrectly said that the Indian government lost the 2024 elections because of its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a recent podcast, Zuckerberg mentioned that many governments, including India’s, lost elections in 2024 due to a global loss of trust in leaders after the pandemic. He linked this to issues like inflation, economic policies, and Covid responses. However, this statement was wrong because India’s ruling government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, won the 2024 elections.
Meta India’s Vice President, Shivnath Thukral, quickly corrected the statement on January 14, saying, “Mark's observation holds true for many countries, but not India.” He also apologized for the mistake and reassured that India remains an important country for Meta.
Dear Honourable Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw , Mark's observation that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in 2024 elections holds true for several countries, BUT not India. We would like to apologise for this inadvertent error. India remains an incredibly important country…
— Shivnath Thukral (@shivithukral) January 14, 2025
The statement upset several Indian leaders. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who leads a parliamentary committee, said that Meta should apologize to the Indian government and the people of India. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also criticized Zuckerberg, calling his statement disappointing and factually incorrect. Vaishnaw reminded everyone that over 640 million people voted in India’s 2024 elections, where the government’s victory was a clear message of trust from the people.
Zuckerberg had made the comments in a discussion about how the Covid-19 pandemic affected trust in governments worldwide. He claimed that this led to the loss of incumbents in elections across the globe, but his statement was wrong when applied to India.
Key Points:
- Meta apologized for Mark Zuckerberg’s incorrect comment about India’s 2024 elections.
- Zuckerberg said India’s government lost due to Covid-19 handling, which was not true.
- Indian politicians, including BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, criticized the statement.
- Meta India emphasized India’s importance and issued a correction.
