Social media giant Meta (NASDAQ:META) will be called upon by a parliamentary panel over "erroneous and irresponsible" comments made by its founder Mark Zuckerberg regarding the 2024 General Elections in India.
The news was tweeted by Nishikant Dubey, BJP MP and the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology on X.
The BJP MP stated that the Parliamentary panel he is heading would soon issue notice to Meta for "spreading misinformation" and seek an apology.
Nishikant Dubey says that with Zuckerberg's objectionable remarks, "misinformation in any democratic country tarnishes its image. The organisation will have to apologise to the Indian Parliament and the people for this mistake".
According to a recent podcast by Zuckerberg, most of the incumbent governments across the democracies saw their public trust decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, which finally led to their ouster in the elections of 2024.
Speaking to podcaster Joe Rogan, Mark Zuckerberg said, "2024 was a very big election year around the world and all these countries, India, had elections. The incumbents basically lost every single one. There is some sort of a global phenomenon - whether it was because of inflation or because of the economic policies to deal with Covid or just how the governments dealt with Covid. It seems to have had this effect that's global – not just the US but for many incumbents in other countries," he said in the podcast.
Inviting a quick response from Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who branded it "factually incorrect," Zuckerberg's broad statement on 2024 polls.
While cross-checking the facts in his statements, the Union Minister asserted that the election held in the country last year was rather the reaffirmation of people's trust in the PM Modi-led NDA for the third time.
"PM Modi's decisive 3rd-term victory is a testament to good governance and public trust," he added.
It was not just that; he also left a word for the Meta and its boss to stand up for the fact and to remain true on its work.
Meta, disappointing moment to know misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself. Let's uphold facts and credibility," he wrote.
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