Meta apologises for Mark Zuckerberg’s “inadvertent error” concerning 2024 election

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s founder, faced significant criticism for his remarks on the 2024 general election. In response, Shivnath Thukral, Meta India’s vice president of Public Policy, issued an apology for the “inadvertent error”, addressing the controversy.

In an X post, the Meta executive said, “Mark’s observation that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in 2024 elections holds true for several countries, BUT not India.”

In a podcast with US-based podcaster Joe Rogan, Zuckerberg stated that the public’s reaction to how various governments handled Covid-19 led to the downfall of several incumbent governments, including in India.

“2024 was a big election year around the world and all these countries…India…ton of countries that had elections and the incumbents basically lost every single one,” Zuckerberg remarked during the podcast.

In response to this statement, Ashwini Vaishnaw, union minister for electronics and information technology said that Zuckerberg’s claim was “factually incorrect”.

He also added, “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.”

Thukral ended his post saying, “India remains an incredibly important country for @Meta and we look forward to being at the heart of its innovative future.”