‘Will have to apologise’: Mark Zuckerberg in trouble, Meta to get India summons over election remark

Trouble seems to be mounting for Mark Zuckerberg as a Parliamentary committee is expected to summon META over the Facebook founder’s “factually incorrect” statement, which described the Lok Sabha 2024 election as a loss for the “incumbent” government due to its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who is also the Chairman of the panel on Communication and Information Technology, said on Tuesday that his committee will issue summons to META for sharing wrong information.

The development came after Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw hit back at Mark Zuckerberg.

“My committee will call @Meta for this wrong information. Wrong information in any democratic country tarnishes the image of the country,” said Dubey in a post in Hindi on X while replying to a post by Vaishnaw.

He further added that the organisation will have to apologise to the Indian Parliament and the people for this mistake.

On Monday, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw fact-checked Zuckerberg and said, "It is disappointing to see misinformation from Zuckerberg himself. Let's uphold facts and credibility."

Tagging Meta on X and other social media platforms, Vaishnaw said, “Mr. Zuckerberg’s claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect. From free food for 800 million, 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 3rd-term victory is a testament to good governance and public trust.”

He added that India, the world's largest democracy, conducted the 2024 general election, which involved more than 640 million (64 crore) voters.

"People of India reaffirmed their trust in the NDA led by PM Narendra Modi Ji's leadership," he added.

Vaishnaw stated that Zuckerberg’s claim that most incumbent governments, including India in the 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect.

Earlier last week, Zuckerberg stunned many when he announced that the Palo Alto company was ditching third-party fact-checking in the United States and turning over the task of debunking falsehoods to ordinary users under a model known as "Community Notes."