A video from the Prime Minister’s own verified account goes missing for a bit on Facebook, the government gets involved, and suddenly the company that runs the platform is scrambling to show it takes the matter seriously. That’s pretty much where we are right now.
On Wednesday, Meta told the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology that posts from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other high-profile Indian accounts will now receive additional oversight. Reviews of such content will happen at a senior level inside the company. Multiple checks are being put in place so that something like this does not happen again. Sources close to the matter shared these details with PTI, and the message has been consistent across several reports.
This comes a day after the IT ministry summoned Meta’s global head of public policy. The trigger was a short video that Modi had posted. It was his first direct selfie-style video aimed at young people. In it, he spoke about the pain of paper leaks, the impact on lakhs of students and their families, and the government’s plan to bring tougher laws, including fast-track courts and stricter punishments. The video first went up on Instagram around 23 July and was shared on Facebook. For a brief period early on 28 July, access to it was restricted on Facebook. Meta later restored it and said the removal happened “in error.”
The company has blamed a glitch in its automated content filters. According to what Meta told the government, those AI-powered systems were reviewing shared versions of the post and related content circulating on the platform, and in the process the original post itself got caught up and restricted for a short time. Meta has apologised. An official statement from the company confirmed the content was removed by mistake and has been put back.
But the government was not fully satisfied. IT Secretary S. Krishnan said it was good that Meta admitted the mistake and apologised, yet the explanation was not adequate. Officials described Meta’s account of events as “not reasonable” and made it clear the matter was far from closed. They want deeper discussions and clearer answers on how such an error could affect a post from the Prime Minister’s verified handle. If automated systems can make this kind of mistake, the company needs to improve those tools, sources indicated.
Meta has now written to the ministry outlining the new safeguards. Posts by the Prime Minister and other prominent accounts will get extra layers of scrutiny. Multiple checks will take place involving senior company officials. The idea, from what sources describe, is a kind of ring-fencing for high-profile accounts so that automated systems do not casually pull them down. Meta officials are also expected to meet government representatives later this week or early next week to discuss the incident further.
The timing of the original video mattered. It came amid prolonged student protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination. Modi spoke directly to that frustration, saying paper leaks are not an ordinary issue and that the government was moving to set up fast-track courts and bring legislation with harsh penalties. The Union Cabinet was to discuss the proposals, after which efforts would be made to pass the bill in Parliament. On Wednesday itself, the Lok Sabha passed the anti-paper leak amendment bill.
For a platform that handles millions of posts every day, automated moderation is unavoidable. Yet when a verified post from the country’s highest elected office gets restricted, even briefly, it raises questions about reliability and accountability. The government has made it clear it expects better from a technology company of Meta’s size. Summoning global executives rather than relying only on the India team signals that New Delhi wants these conversations to happen at a higher level.
Meta, for its part, has moved into what looks like correction mode. By promising additional oversight and senior reviews for content from the Prime Minister and other prominent personalities, the company is trying to show it has taken the government’s concerns on board. Whether these new processes will fully prevent similar incidents remains to be seen, but the commitment has been put on record.
For now, the video is back up. Meta has apologised and outlined tighter internal checks. The government continues to press for more details and systemic improvements. Officials from both sides are likely to sit across the table in the coming days. How those conversations go will decide whether this particular chapter is truly closed or whether it leads to longer-term changes in how platforms handle content from prominent Indian voices.
Sources:
PTI reports carried by The Times of India, CNBC-TV18, India TV, The Tribune, and related coverage from Hindustan Times and other outlets citing government and company sources.
@Rohit Manral