Why Did Meta Remove PM Modi's Video? Reason Behind the Apology Explained

In July 2026 a controversy between the Indian government and Meta broke out. This was because a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefly removed from Facebook. 

The video was showing PM Modi addressing students and Gen Z about examination controversies and how the government will take strict action against paper leaks.

This sudden removal drew a lot of criticism from India towards Meta and soon after, senior Meta officials issued a formal apology saying that the video was removed by mistake.

This incident has again brought spotlight on how social media companies moderate content, how much responsibility they hold, and whether their policies are fair and transparent.

Below you will understand why the video was removed, how content moderation works on big platforms like Facebook and why Meta is apologising. 

When and Why Was PM Modi’s Video Removed?

The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi posted a video on 23 July 2026 in which he addressed students about action being taken against examination paper leaks. The video was first shared on Instagram and then later on Facebook. However, the Facebook version was suddenly taken down and it remained restricted for about 5 hours, from 12:30 am to 5:00 am on 28 July.

This removal gained strong reaction from India and government officials. Nishikant Dubey, who leads a key parliamentary committee, called the removal an "attack on democracy." After the huge reaction emerged, the video was restored by Meta. 

Meta mentioned that the video was taken down from Facebook due to a technical glitch which means it was a mistake and it was not done on purpose by any person at Meta.

Large platforms like Meta’s Facebook and Instagram use automatic computer systems, called algorithms, to check millions of posts every day. These systems are trained to catch harmful or rule-breaking content quickly.

However, sometimes these systems make mistakes as well and remove the content that is already following all the rules. That is what happened with PM Modi’s video. 

Timeline of the Incident

Why Did Meta Apologise?

As the video was posted by the official account of the PM of India and was addressing a sensitive topic, the mistake caused a serious reaction.

On 5 August 2026, Meta's Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan met with the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and apologised formally for the wrong takedown of PM Modi's video. 

Along with the apology, Meta restored the video quickly and assured the Indian government that it would review and strengthen its content moderation processes to avoid such mistakes in the future.

How Does Meta's Content Moderation Work?

Meta uses some mixed methods to decide what stays on its platforms and what is removed. Here is a brief overview:

• AI-based moderation: Automatic computer systems scan posts, images, and videos to check if they break any rules. This is how Meta reviews lakhs of posts quickly but this system can sometimes make errors. 

• Human review teams: When automatic systems of Meta flag something then human reviewers often check it again to confirm whether the content actually breaks the rules or was it flagged by mistake.

• Community Standards: These are Meta's official rules that explains what kind of content can be posted on its platforms. 

• Appeals process: If a person feels their content was removed unfairly, they can request Meta to review the decision again.