Meta has apologised after a video posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his official Facebook account was briefly removed from public view, saying the action was the result of a technical error and
not an intentional moderation decision.
The social media giant restored the video on Tuesday and acknowledged that it had been taken down mistakenly.
IANS quoted government sources as saying that the Centre has taken the incident very seriously, and that the global heads of Meta and Instagram were summoned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The controversy erupted in the early hours of Tuesday (July 28) after users found that PM Modi’s video, his first direct address to Generation Z amid the ongoing CJP-led student protests, was unavailable on Facebook.
During the brief period when the content was inaccessible, users reportedly saw a notice stating that the post was unavailable in India due to a “legal request”, triggering widespread speculation on social media.
The video was restored within hours, following which Meta clarified that the removal was caused by an internal technical glitch and not because of any government directive or content policy enforcement.
Screenshots of the restriction notice were widely shared online before the content reappeared on the platform.
The video itself had drawn significant public attention after PM Modi directly addressed young Indians and spoke about concerns over examination paper leaks and steps being taken by the government.
Earlier, the Prime Minister had thanked young people for the overwhelming response to the video, which official broadcaster Akashvani News reported had crossed 303 million views within 24 hours, making it one of his most widely viewed social media posts.
The temporary removal comes at a time when social media platforms are under heightened scrutiny in India over content moderation and compliance with local regulations.
While Meta has termed the episode an inadvertent error, government sources indicated that authorities intend to seek a detailed explanation from the company over how the Prime Minister’s official content was briefly restricted.
