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The head of the House subcommittee on communication and information technology, Nishikant Dubey, announced on Tuesday that the Parliamentary Standing Committee is expected to summon the social networking behemoth Meta. The BJP MP charged that Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO, was disseminating false information by his previous remarks regarding the 2024 Indian general election in a post on X.
Because of this inaccurate information, my committee will contact Meta. Any democratic nation’s reputation is damaged by false information. The Indian Parliament and the people here will have to accept the organization’s apology for this error,” Dubey stated in his post.
Mark Zuckerberg on elections to the Lok Sabha
Zuckerberg recently discussed the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on election results and public trust in governments in an interview with Joe Rogan. He 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 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,” he added.
A union minister reacts to Meta CEO
Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, denied Zuckerberg’s assertions, claiming that the NDA government, under by Narendra Modi, had won the 2024 elections.
“Zuckerberg’s claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-Covid is factually incorrect…PM Modi’s decisive 3rd-term victory is a testament to good governance and public trust,” Vaishnaw stated.
He added, “Meta, it’s disappointing to see misinformation from Zuckerberg himself. Let’s uphold facts and credibility.”
Meta eliminates fact-checking
Zuckerberg’s remarks coincide with Meta’s recent decision to remove third-party fact-checking and relax moderation on delicate subjects, which Zuckerberg justified by pointing to a trend in society that values free expression.
However, political heavyweights and misinformation specialists have criticized this policy change, with outgoing US President Joe Biden calling it “really shameful.”
Additionally, an open letter from the International Fact-Checking Network warned of “devastating consequences” if Meta’s policy changes were implemented globally, especially in nations that are susceptible to political instability and disinformation.
Zuckerberg’s remarks and policy decisions have also been interpreted as an attempt to align with the re-election of US President-elect Donald Trump, whose conservative base has criticised tech platforms for allegedly curbing free speech. Critics accuse Zuckerberg of pandering to Trump, who often claims that Big Tech colludes with liberal opponents to suppress conservative viewpoints.
While Dubey had made the announcement on X, no formal letter has been sent to Meta as of Tuesday, Jan 14.
