Meta apologised for briefly taking down Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s selfie video from Facebook during nationwide student protests, citing a technical error.
According to India Today, the video was mistakenly taken down before being restored. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Meta expressed regret over the error and confirmed that the post had been reinstated.
The incident has drawn a strong response from the Indian government, which described the matter as serious. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has summoned senior officials from Meta and Instagram to explain why the Prime Minister’s video was removed from the platform.
The video was posted by Modi late last Thursday at the height of nationwide demonstrations over the alleged leak of the NEET-UG examination paper. Protesters had been demanding the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the controversy.
In the selfie video, Modi assured students that the government was treating the examination leak and related irregularities with the utmost seriousness and promised appropriate action.
The video, aimed at reaching young people directly through social media, quickly went viral amid the ongoing student-led protests across India. Meta has maintained that the temporary removal was accidental and not the result of any deliberate action.
