NEW DELHI: Demanding an apology from Meta for “tarnishing India’s image”, head of the parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology Nishikant Dubey said the social media giant would be summoned over its CEO Mark Zuckerberg‘s comment that the incumbent govt in India had lost the last general election.
In a post on X, BJP MP Dubey accused Zuckerberg of spreading misinformation through his comments. “My committee will call Meta for this wrong information. Wrong information in any democratic country tarnishes the image of the country. That organisation will have to apologise to the Indian Parliament and the people here for this mistake,” he wrote in his post. On how much time would be given to Meta for a response, Dubey said, “Our committee will be on a visit to Andaman and Nicobar Islands from tomorrow. Our committee will conclude the visit on Jan 20. We will speak to the members of the committee there. We will ask them to be present between Jan 20-24.”
He was reacting to I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw‘s criticism of Zuckerberg for making a “factually incorrect” statement that the incumbent govt in India lost the election in 2024 over issues arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dubey: Meta boss statement is interference in India’s democracy
“It is disappointing to see misinformation from Zuckerberg himself. Let’s uphold facts and credibility,” Vaishnaw said on Monday, tagging Meta on X and other social media platforms. “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 third-term victory is a testament to good governance and public trust,” he further added.
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.
“There is some sort of global phenomena, whether it was inflation because of the economic policies to deal with Covid or just how the govts dealt with Covid, seems to have this effect that is global, not just the US, but like a very broad decrease in trust, at least in the set incumbents and maybe, in sort of these democratic institutions overall,” he said.
In the 2024 election, BJP lost its majority but the alliance led by the party won a comfortable majority, paving the way for Narendra Modi’s third straight term.
Dubey further said Zuckerberg’s statement was alarming and an interference in India’s democracy.