The World’s biggest social media company Meta, has apologised after a selfie-style video posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was temporarily taken down from Facebook before being quickly restored. In a bit of an awkward moment on Tuesday, the company issued a statement saying, “The content was removed in error and has since been restored.”
The Ministry of Information and Technology has already issued summonses to the global heads of both Meta and Instagram, asking them to explain what happened.
Meta’s official response was straightforward: “The content was removed in error and has since been restored.”
The nearly three-minute video was posted late at night last Thursday on July 23.
In the short video, Prime Minister spoke directly to students amid the ongoing protests over the NEET-UG paper leak protests.
He reassured the young viewers that the government was treating the issue with utmost seriousness, the culprits had been caught and jailed, and steps were taken so that students wouldn’t lose a year.
“I have issued directions to departments to set up Fast-Track Courts,” Modi had said, adding that a draft legislation providing for stringent punishment and special courts to deal with paper leak cases would be discussed by the Cabinet before being introduced in Parliament.
He also said the government had ensured that the academic year of nearly 22 lakh students was not disrupted and vowed that “nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth.”
The video struck a chord and went massively viral, especially on Instagram, where it crossed 303 million views in just 24 hours, breaking previous records.
PM Modi later posted a short follow-up thanking the youth for their love, support, and suggestions.
The Centre subsequently introduced the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, which proposes tougher punishment for offenders, including imprisonment of up to 10 years, enhanced fines and the establishment of Special Fast-Track Courts to try offences under the Act.
The agitation was formally called off on July 25 after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from the Cabinet. The government also reached an understanding with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and activist Sonam Wangchuk, agreeing to withdraw cases against protesters, prevent police intimidation and bring in stronger anti-paper leak legislation.
This whole episode has clearly caught the government’s attention, and officials are expected to have a detailed conversation with Meta’s top executives about how such a high-profile video ended up being removed, even briefly.
