January 15, 2025: Meta India has issued an apology over an erroneous remark made by its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, suggesting that India’s incumbent government was voted out of power in the 2024 elections. The statement, made during an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, drew swift backlash from Indian leaders and prompted an apology from Meta India's Vice President, Shivnath Thukral.

In his tweet addressing the controversy, Thukral clarified Zuckerberg’s comments, stating, “Mark Zuckerberg's observation that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in the 2024 elections holds true 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.”

Thukral's apology came in response to Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who had earlier criticised Zuckerberg’s statement, calling it "factually incorrect." Vaishnaw reaffirmed that India’s citizens had overwhelmingly re-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a historic third term, reinforcing their trust in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, head of the parliamentary panel on IT, also weighed in, calling the apology a “victory of the common citizens” of India. “The Indian Parliament and government have the blessings and trust of 1.4 billion people. An official from Meta India has finally apologised for their mistakes. This victory belongs to the common citizens of India,” Dubey tweeted.

Despite the apology, Dubey emphasized that the parliamentary panel would continue to hold Meta and other social media platforms accountable for various issues. “We will summon these social platforms on other matters in the future,” he added.

The controversy erupted after Zuckerberg’s comments on the podcast suggested that most incumbent governments globally had lost elections following the COVID-19 pandemic, incorrectly including India among them. The remarks sparked immediate backlash, with Indian leaders pointing out that the Modi government had secured a decisive victory in the 2024 elections.

The incident has highlighted the growing scrutiny on global tech companies like Meta and their influence in key democracies like India.