'Disappointing...': Ashwini Vaishnaw slams Mark Zuckerberg over his 2024 election remark

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday slammed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for his remarks that most incumbent governments basically lost every single election in 2024. Vaishnaw took to microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) to express disappointment over the Facebook co-founder's comment that featured in a podcast. Categorically stating that Zuckerberg's statement was "factually incorrect", Vaishnaw said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance's victory in the 2024 general election in India was not only "decisive" but also demonstrated strong governance and public trust. 

The minister's remarks followed Zuckerberg's remark that reflected his notion that there was a global decline in trust in governments following the COVID-19 pandemic. Zuckerberg had reportedly claimed that in across elections in various parts of the world last year, most incumbent governments, including the one in India, lost power.

"As the world's largest democracy, India conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. People of India reaffirmed their trust in NDA led by PM @narendramodi Ji's leadership," wrote Vaishnaw. 

Highlighting a slew of achievements under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the minister wrote: "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 3rd-term victory is a testament to good governance and public trust."

"It's disappointing to see misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself. Let's uphold facts and credibility," Vaishnaw wrote, tagging Meta. 

As the world’s largest democracy, India conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. People of India reaffirmed their trust in NDA led by PM @narendramodi Ji’s leadership.

Mr. Zuckerberg’s claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections,…

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) January 13, 2025

The minister's remark triggered a rush of reactions from netizens on X.

However, Zuckerberg's verified X handle, which is usually inactive, showed no response. Additionally, the Meta CEO remained silent on Facebook, where he is occasionally more active.