Nishikant Dubey, the chairman of the House panel on communication and information technology, announced on Tuesday that the Parliamentary Standing Committee is expected to summon the social media behemoth Meta. In a post on X, the BJP MP charged that Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO, had circulated false information with his previous remarks regarding the general election in India in 2024. 

"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," Dubey wrote in his post. In a recent podcast interview with Joe Rogan, Zuckerberg discussed how the COVID-19 virus has affected election results and public confidence worldwide. 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. Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw disagreed with Zuckerberg's claims, saying that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government had won the 2024 elections and remained in power. "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 said.

Zuckerberg added, "Meta, it’s disappointing to see misinformation from Zuckerberg himself. Let’s uphold facts and credibility." Zuckerberg's remarks coincide with Meta's recent decision to no longer use third-party fact-checking and to relax moderation on delicate subjects. Zuckerberg justified this decision by pointing to a cultural shift that prioritises free speech. However, political heavyweights and misinformation specialists have criticised this policy change, with outgoing US President Joe Biden calling it "really shameful." The International Fact-Checking Network also warned in an open letter that there would be "devastating consequences" if Meta's policy changes were implemented globally, especially in nations that are susceptible to political instability and disinformation. 

Mark Zuckerberg's comments and policy decisions have been seen as an effort to align with the re-election campaign of US President-elect Donald Trump. Trump's conservative supporters have criticised tech platforms for supposedly limiting free speech. Some critics believe Zuckerberg is trying to gain favour with Trump, who frequently claims that Big Tech works with liberal groups to silence conservative views. Although Dubey shared the announcement on X, no official letter has been sent to Meta as of Tuesday, January 14.