Parliamentary panel set to summon Mark Zuckerberg over Indian election comments

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent comments regarding India’s 2024 General Elections have sparked significant political backlash, prompting the Indian government to take a strong stance.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey, who leads the parliamentary committee on communications and information technology, has announced that the committee may summon Zuckerberg to address his controversial remarks. In his comments, Zuckerberg appeared to suggest that most incumbent governments, including India's, lost in the 2024 elections.

“My committee will summon Meta for this misinformation. Incorrect information tarnishes the image of any democratic country. The organisation will have to apologise to the Indian Parliament and the people of this country for this mistake,” Dubey posted on X.

Prior to Dubey’s statement, India’s IT and Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had expressed disappointment over Zuckerberg's remarks, calling it “misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself.”

“As the world’s largest democracy, India conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. The people of India reaffirmed their trust in the NDA under PM @narendramodi Ji’s leadership. Mr. Zuckerberg’s claim that most incumbent governments, including India, lost in the 2024 elections, is factually incorrect,” Vaishnaw stated. He went on to highlight India's accomplishments, from providing free food for 800 million people to delivering 2.2 billion free vaccines, and its position as the fastest-growing major economy. “PM Modi’s decisive 3rd-term victory is a testament to good governance and public trust,” Vaishnaw added, urging people to uphold facts and credibility.

Zuckerberg’s controversial remarks came during a series of media appearances, as Meta announced changes to its global content policies, including the end of the third-party fact-checking system in the US. In his statements, Zuckerberg described 2024 as a pivotal election year and suggested that countries like India “basically lost” their elections. He attributed this to a global loss of trust in governments, partly due to the aftermath of COVID-19, inflation, and economic policies.

His remarks, however, have been met with strong criticism from Indian political leaders, who have firmly rejected his interpretation of the 2024 elections.