I.N.D.I.A bloc writes to Zuckerberg, Pichai; seeks platforms’ neutrality during elections

The Opposition India National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) bloc has written to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai over their social media platforms’ alleged role in “aiding communal hatred” in the country and demanded that the platforms maintain neutrality in the upcoming elections.

The letters came after the Washington Post newspaper flagged alleged bias of Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube towards the ruling BJP and the Narendra Modi dispensation.

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 wrote 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 I.N.D.I.A 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.