NEW DELHI: IT, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday “fact-checked” Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg’s recent statement that incumbent governments in several countries, including India, had lost elections in the post-Covid period.
Saying Zuckerberg’s claim was “factually incorrect,” Vaishnaw posted on
Vaishnaw’s “fact check” comes a week after Zuckerberg announced that Meta was disbanding its fact-checking program in the United States.
Zuck touted Covid link to headline losses around the world
Appearing in the Joe Rogan PodcastZuckerberg had said that 2024 was the big election year around the world and that in many countries like India, incumbents lost the polls.
“There is some kind of global phenomenon, whether it’s inflation due to economic policies to deal with Covid or just how governments dealt with Covid, that seems to have this effect that is global, not just in the US, but in a broader area. very broad. decreased trust, at least in some rulers and perhaps in some democratic institutions in general,” the Facebook founder had said.
The minister noted that the Modi government won a third term in the elections held in 2024. “As the world’s largest democracy, India held the 2024 elections with more than 640 million voters. The people of India reaffirmed their confidence in the NDA led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
He said that the victory in the elections reaffirmed the faith of citizens in the government, which implemented food and vaccine programs to overcome the Covid period. “From free food for 800 million, 2.2 billion free vaccines and aid to nations around the world during Covid, to leading India as the fastest growing major economy, Prime Minister Modi’s decisive third term victory is a testament to good governance and public trust.”
The censorship of Zuckerberg’s statement comes as the company scrapped its fact-checking program in the United States on Jan. 7 and eased restrictions on discussions about contentious topics such as immigration and gender identity, bowing to criticism from conservatives as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office for a second time.
“We’ve reached a point where there are too many mistakes and too much censorship. It’s time to go back to our roots around free expression,” Zuckerberg had said in a video.
Instead of a formal fact-checking program to address dubious claims posted on Meta platforms, Zuckerberg plans to implement a “community notes” system similar to that used on social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk.