Meta apologises for Mark Zuckerberg's Indian elections remarks: ‘Inadvertent error’

"We would like to apologise for this inadvertent error," Meta India's Shivnath Thukral wrote on X

Meta India has issued an apology for Mark Zuckerberg’s comment that the incumbent government in India lost the election in 2024, calling it an “inadvertent error.”

“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 India’s vice president of public policy Shivnath Thukral wrote on X.

The apology came after Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw countered Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Monday on his claim that after the Covid-19 pandemic, most incumbent governments, including the one in India, lost elections in 2024, asserting that his statement was “factually incorrect”.

In a post on X, Vaishnaw said as the world’s largest democracy, India conducted the 2024 general election involving more than 640 million (64 crore) voters.

“People of India reaffirmed their trust in NDA led by PM Narendra Modi ji’s leadership. Mr Zuckerberg’s claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-Covid is factually incorrect,” the information and broadcasting minister noted.

Appearing on the Joe Rogan podcast, Zuckerberg said 2024 was the big election year around the world and in a lot of countries like India, the incumbents lost the polls.

"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," said Thukral.

On Tuesday, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who leads the Parliament's Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, stated that the panel will summon the firm following its chairman's comments about the ruling dispensation’s defeat in last year’s Lok Sabha polls.

"My committee will summon Meta for this incorrect information. Incorrect information about any democratic country tarnishes its image. This organisation will have to apologise to the Indian Parliament and the people here for this mistake," Dubey said in a post on X.