Meta apologises following controversial remarks by Zuckerberg on Indian elections

New Delhi: Meta has issued an apology under pressure from Indian government officials following controversial comments made by its Chairman, Mark Zuckerberg, regarding the 2024 Indian elections. The remarks, which suggested that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in the 2024 elections, had caused a stir within India, particularly after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey raised concerns about the comments tarnishing the country's image.

The incident unfolded after Zuckerberg's statement, which compared electoral outcomes in various countries to India's recent Lok Sabha elections. In his observation, Zuckerberg implied that the ruling dispensation in India had lost the election, a claim that BJP leaders found inaccurate and objectionable.

Nishikant Dubey, the chairman of the Parliament's Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, expressed strong disapproval of the statement and called for an apology from Meta. He also announced plans to summon representatives from Meta to the committee to address the issue.

In response to the controversy, Meta stated on Twitter, apologising for the “inadvertent error” in Zuckerberg’s statement. “Dear Honourable Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw, Mark's observation that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in the 2024 elections holds for several countries, BUT not India. We would like to apologise for this inadvertent error. India remains an incredibly important country for @Meta and we look forward to being at the heart of its innovative future,” Meta's statement read.

The apology came after the Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, took to social media to call for an apology from Meta, emphasising that the social media giant's remarks were not just misleading but also detrimental to India’s reputation on the global stage.