India’s Minister of Road Transport, Nitin Gadkari, has filed a lawsuit against Meta and several technology companies, seeking 110 million rupees ($1.14 million) in damages over alleged defamatory social media posts linked to the country’s ethanol-blended fuel programme.
The suit, filed before the Bombay High Court on Tuesday, alleges that deepfake posts and videos falsely portrayed Gadkari as being personally responsible for India’s E20 fuel policy and accused him and his family of profiting from the initiative.
India has been promoting its E20 petrol programme, which blends 20 per cent ethanol with petrol, as part of efforts to reduce dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions.
However, the policy has faced criticism following viral social media posts claiming that E20 fuel damages vehicle engines and increases maintenance costs for cars designed to use lower ethanol blends.
According to Gadkari’s office, the minister argued that the online content had caused irreparable harm to his reputation.
The lawsuit names Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, as well as X Corp, Google and other entities, according to Indian media reports.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the legal action.
India is Meta’s largest market by number of Facebook and Instagram users, while the government has increasingly tightened regulations requiring social media companies to remove content and comply with official takedown orders.