Ashwini Vaishnaw fact-checks Mark Zuckerberg's comment over ‘misinformation’, says ‘PM Modi’s decisive 3rd-term…’

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday took to social media to address comments made by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding the outcome of the 2024 Indian elections. In his statement, Vaishnaw firmly refuted Zuckerberg's assertion that most incumbent governments, including India's National Democratic Alliance (NDA), had lost their positions post-Covid pandemic. “It’s disappointing to see misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself. Let’s uphold facts and credibility," Vaishnaw wrote on X.

“India conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. People of India reaffirmed their trust in NDA led by PM Narendra Modi Ji’s leadership,” Vaishnaw said on X (formerly Twitter).

The BJP leader pointed to key achievements during PM Narendra Modi's tenure, such as providing free food to 800 million citizens and administering 2.2 billion vaccine doses, which he believes contributed to the electorate's confidence in the government.

“Mr. Zuckerberg’s claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect,” Vaishnaw said.

What did Mark Zuckerberg say on India's Lok Sabha Elections 2024?

During his appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed that incumbent governments, including India's, lost the trust of voters during the Covid-19 pandemic. He noted that many elections in 2024 resulted in losses for these governments.

“A lot of people in the US focus on this as an American phenomenon, but I kind of think that the reaction to Covid probably caused a breakdown and trust in a lot of governments around the world, because 2024 was a big election year around the world. And you know there are all these countries, India, just like a ton of countries that had elections and the incumbents basically lost every single one of them (sic),” Zuckerberg said. 

“So there is some sort of global phenomenon where whether it was because of inflation, because the economic policies to deal with Covid or just how governments dealt with Covid seems to have had this effect,” Zuckerberg added.

Did incumbents lose 2024 elections?

US Elections: In the 2024 United States presidential elections, incumbent President Joe Biden did not seek re-election, leading to a contest between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Republican Donald Trump won the election, securing 312 electoral votes against Harris's 226. Trump had been the US president during the first two Covid waves.

UK Elections: In the 2024 general election in the United Kingdom, held on July 4, the Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, achieved a historic victory, winning 412 seats and ending the Conservative Party's 14-year reign under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The Conservatives suffered a significant defeat, securing only 121 seats, marking their worst result in history, while the Labour's vote share stood at 33.7 per cent. The Tories governed the UK during the three Covid waves.

India Lok Sabha Elections: In the 2024 India Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led NDA won 293 seats in the Lok Sabha, securing PM Narendra Modi's third consecutive term. However, the BJP itself saw a significant decline, winning only 240 seats compared to 303 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, while the Opposition INDIA bloc won 234 seats overall.

Russia Elections: In Russian presidential elections, held from March 15 to 17, incumbent President Vladimir Putin secured a decisive victory, receiving approximately 87.3 per cent of the votes. The former KGB officer has been Russia's president since 2012, and this victory allowed to extend his rule until at least 2030.

Bangladesh Elections: In 2024 Bangladeshi general elections held on January 7, incumbent PM Sheikh Hasina secured her fourth consecutive term, with her Awami League party winning 224 of the 300 contested parliamentary seats. However, Hasina was usurped by a student uprising in August, leading her to flee to India.

Pakistan Elections: In the 2024 Pakistani general elections held on February 8, independent candidates aligned with former PM Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the most seats, securing 93 out of 266 contested. However, Shehbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was elected as the prime minister, forming a coalition government.