Following Facebook investor and board member Marc Andreessen's comments about Internet.org and colonialism in India, which recently created a stir on Twitterverse, Mark Zuckerberg has pushed out a statement to distance himself and Facebook from the controversial tweets.
"I want to respond to Marc Andreessen's comments about India yesterday," says the social networking site's chief executive. "I found the comments deeply upsetting, and they do not represent the way Facebook or I think at all."
He adds on his Facebook post that India continues to be personally important to him and the company as he was empowered by the "humanity, spirit and values of the people" when he previously visited the country.
"It solidified my understanding that when all people have the power to share their experiences, the entire world will make progress," he says.
He goes on to say that the company stands to help connect people and provide them voice to shape their own future. He believes, though, that to shape the future, it is a necessity to be aware of the past.
Also, he says that he has acquired a greater appreciation for the need to know the country's culture and history and he has been inspired by how much improvement India has created in developing a strong nation and the largest democracy on the globe.
Finally, he says he's looking towards strengthening his connection to India.
Prior to Zuckerberg's statement, Facebook said it firmly rejects the comments expressed by Andreessen with regard to India.
Andreessen's Tweets
Andreessen took to Twitter on Tuesday evening to defend the social networking site's Free Basics, a program that aims to provide Internet access to people in different parts of the globe, especially in developing countries.
Facebook has already launched this effort in various countries, including India where users could use it to gain access to some websites, free of charge. In the last couple of months, Free Basics has been a significant topic of controversy in India for presumably violating net neutrality.
Facebook has teamed up with Reliance Telecom to provide its initiative in the country. However, regulator TRAI announced a daily fine, which is about $750 every single day, for zero-rated Internet services operating in India.
When other netizens on Twitter compared the company's effort to a colonialist strategy, Andreessen then wrote this statement:
While the original tweet has been deleted, some sites, such as Re/code, have managed to capture the controversial tweet.
Quite a few Twitter users then responded negatively on his comments. Some people even believed his sentiments are pro-colonialist.
On Wednesday, Andreessen posted new tweets apologizing about his earlier statements. He likewise notes that he is not in favor of colonialism.
I apologize for any offense caused by my earlier tweet about Indian history and politics. I admire India and the Indian people enormously.
— Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 10, 2016
And for the record, I am opposed to colonialism, in any country. https://t.co/3ommgZssMm — Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 10, 2016
In the meantime, here's how Twitterverse reacted on Andreessen's controversial statements.
has everyone considered the fact that marc andreesen is actually very very dumb? — broke, but leveld up (@zlingman) February 10, 2016
Closet imperialist or colonial hangover? Yes, thank you Marc Andreesen but we 'poor' Indians are doing just fine. https://t.co/w0Rxm26Bxm — Salone Sehgal (@SaloneSehgal) February 10, 2016
this marc andreesen guy doesn't seem to offer anything of value to the world but he's verified and people put him on my feed a lot — jim jones - we fly h (@Yelix) February 10, 2016
It seems Marc Andreesen has made some insensitive comments about Indians & worst of all never said if he meant the feather kind or dot kind — Eddie Brawley (@ebrawley) February 10, 2016
