Electoral Fraud Claims in West Bengal
UPDATED SEP 15, 2026
Standard Case 2026-049-FB-UA
Today, September 15, 2026, the Oversight Board selected a case appealed by a Facebook user regarding a post alleging electoral fraud in the Indian state of West Bengal.
In April 2026, an image with a caption in Hindi was posted on a Facebook page. The image shows an electronic voting machine with tape over the button next to the name of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, the party then in opposition in West Bengal. The caption alleges that the then-incumbent Trinamool Congress (TMC) used manipulative tactics to win the 2021 and 2024 elections in the state, and references BJP claims of electoral fraud in those polls that were brought before the Election Commission of India and were also under examination by the regional high court. The caption urges the Election Commission to look for similar tactics in the April 2026 West Bengal legislative assembly elections.
Upon initial review, Meta took down this content for violating our policy on Coordinating Harm and Promoting Crime, as laid out in the Community Standards, because it called for coordinated interference that would affect an individual's ability to participate in an official election or census. Meta also applied a standard strike to the posting user and to the Facebook page. However, upon additional review, we determined we removed this content in error and reinstated the post. We also reversed the strikes applied to the user and the page.
We will implement the Board's decision once it has finished deliberating, and will update this post accordingly. Please see the Board's website for the decision when they issue it.