Mon Jan 13 12:49:02 UTC 2025: ## Indian Minister Fact-Checks Zuckerberg’s False Claim About 2024 Election Results
**NEW DELHI** – Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today publicly corrected Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s inaccurate assertion that India’s incumbent government lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Zuckerberg, in a recent interview with Joe Rogan, claimed that most incumbent governments worldwide, including India’s, lost their respective elections in 2024.
Vaishnaw, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, refuted this claim on X (formerly Twitter), stating that the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a decisive victory, with over 640 million voters participating in the election. He highlighted the election as a reaffirmation of public trust in the NDA’s governance.
Zuckerberg’s statement, made within a broader discussion about the erosion of global trust in governments following the COVID-19 pandemic, sparked controversy. He attributed the purported global trend of incumbent losses to factors such as inflation and government responses to the pandemic.
Vaishnaw countered that Modi’s third-term victory demonstrates strong public support and effective governance.
The minister’s fact-check has drawn international attention and criticism. Concerns have been raised that the action might be an attempt to appease President-elect Donald Trump, whose supporters have criticized fact-checking initiatives on social media platforms.
US President Joe Biden condemned the move as “really shameful,” while the International Fact-Checking Network warned of potentially devastating consequences if Meta expands its policy of curbing fact-checking to other countries vulnerable to misinformation. The network highlighted the risks of political instability, election interference, and violence.
Zuckerberg, in his interview, defended his approach, drawing a comparison to George Orwell’s dystopian novel, *Nineteen Eighty-Four*.
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