FB’s Mark praises Modi in manifesto

New Delhi, Feb. 17: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg cited the example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to showcase how the social network has helped establish a direct dialogue and accountability between people and elected leaders.

In a post titled ‘Building Global Community’, Mr Zuckerberg wrote to the social network’s users in an over 5,700-word post, which is being described as his mission statement.

“Beyond voting, the greatest opportunity is helping people stay engaged with the issues that matter to them every day, not just every few years at the ballot box. We can help establish direct dialogue and accountability between people and our elected leaders,” he wrote.

“In India, Prime Minister Modi has asked his ministers to share their meetings and information on Facebook so they can hear direct feedback from citizens.”

In his post, he went on to describe challenges that the world face today, ranging from climate change and pandemics to terrorism and inequality.

“For the past decade, Facebook has focused on connecting friends and families. With that foundation, our next focus will be developing the social infrastructure for community — for supporting us, for keeping us safe, for informing us, for civic engagement, and for inclusion of all,” he added.