I.N.D.I.A bloc pens to CEO's of Facebook, Google demands 'neutrality' during 2024 Lok Sabha polls

On behalf of the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge today (October 12) shared a letter which was written to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai over their social media platforms' alleged role in aiding communal hatred in India and demanded that the platforms maintain neutrality in the upcoming polls.

The letter focuses on a media report stating that "Meta is culpable of abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India."

The letter was signed by around 14 leaders of I.N.D.I.A bloc including- Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, D Raja, Sitaram Yechury, Mehbooba Mufti and others.

The two-page letter came after the Washington Post newspaper flagged alleged bias of Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube towards the ruling BJP and the Narendra Modi dispensation. The opposition bloc demanded that Meta's operations in India remain neutral.

Sharing the letter to Zuckerberg on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Letter by I.N.D.I.A parties to Facebook's Mr Mark Zuckerberg



(@finkd) citing the exhaustive investigations by the Washington Post that Meta is culpable of abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India."

"I.N.D.I.A parties also write to Google's Mr Sundar Pichai on exhaustive investigation by the Washington Post that Alphabet and specifically YouTube is culpable of abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India," he said in another post while sharing the letter to Pichai.

In the letter to Zuckerberg, the opposition parties have said that the India National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is an alliance of 28 political parties in India that represent the combined opposition coalition and are the ruling alliance in 11 states and represent nearly half of all Indian voters.

"You may be aware of the recent exposes by the Washington Post newspaper about the role of WhatsApp and Facebook in aiding the communal hatred campaign of the ruling BJP. Specifically, the article cites details of how this vile, communally divisive propaganda is carried out using WhatsApp groups by BJP members and supporters.