Why I Hate Mark Zuckerberg

Now it's no secret that Mark Zuckerberg's popularity is at an all-time low. Headlines like, How Mark Zuckerberg became the most reviled man in tech, are dime a dozen in the media. There's an endless stream of memes labelling him as a lizard, a robot and an alien. His appearance and behaviour are relentlessly mocked. And generally, tech billionaires like Elon Musk get a fairly mixed reception from the press. And the same used to actually be true for Zuckerberg. In his early career, he was a rising star. He was even named Times Person of the Year for 2010. But today, Mark Zuckerberg's public image is almost entirely negative. People see him as a cold and calculating, ruthless businessman. With Zuckerberg admitting that he's obsessed with the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar, it's no surprise why he has such a hunger for power, as well as such a terrible haircut. I mean, even Zuckerberg's own chatbot doesn't like him. When the AI asked what it thought about Zuckerberg, it responded by calling Zuckerberg a bad person, and said he was, quote, And as we all know, almost all of his public appearances over the years have been a goldmine. But this begs the question, why is Zuckerberg hated so much more than any other billionaire? In fact, what made Zuckerberg one of the most despised figures in the world? And how did this all happen? Well, the first reason comes from the way that Zuckerberg built Facebook in the first place. During the creation of Facebook, there were multiple controversies, lawsuits, and backstabs involved in the company's founding. It all started when multiple Harvard students accused Zuckerberg of stealing the idea for Facebook, an accusation that ended up being true. The website's early counterpart was named ConnectU, and it was supposed to function essentially the same way as Facebook did. In fact, ConnectU was so similar to Facebook But not only did Zuckerberg steal the idea for Facebook, but he deliberately destroyed his competitor's site, ConnectU. The project would be shut down on February 3rd, 2004. Coincidentally, just one day before Facebook was launched. And yet, this was just the start of the controversies behind Facebook. With Facebook up and running, it wouldn't take long until Facebook's launch for Zuckerberg to call his user base, during a text conversation with his friends. Although this wasn't public at the time, Zuckerberg outwardly believed that anyone who handed over their data to him through Facebook was a moron. He even bragged and mocked the idea that anyone would trust them with their personal data. And if this wasn't bad enough, two years later and Zuckerberg would be accused by an additional undergraduate that claimed to have their website's features copied by Facebook. Going by the same name, Facenet, this was an early competitor to Zuckerberg's creation developed by another Harvard student. They alleged that Facebook had copied their original features. After taking Zuckerberg to court, they were going to settle the case for an undisclosed amount. But despite these few missteps Zuckerberg was making, this really didn't stop Facebook from steamrolling the social media market. I mean, in just four years after its launch, Facebook now had 100 million users. And then in 2012, this number would increase tenfold. We can clearly see this meteoric rise through the amount of people searching for it online. And without a doubt, Zuckerberg was making a name for himself. He was the nerdy billionaire genius, becoming one of the richest people in the world in his 20s, becoming Time's Person of the Year. And while he had his quirks, the world didn't really know or care very much about Zuckerberg. But it wasn't just that nobody was really paying attention back then. Mark just seemed like an altogether different person during his earlier days. He was more authentic and seemed much more alive than the cyborg we currently know him as. Even his speech patterns were different, and actually appeared surprisingly normal. In one of his earliest media appearances, this was all too plain to see. While Mark Zuckerberg was clearly nervous during the interview, his humanity still shines through. When we first launched, we were hoping for, you know, maybe 400, 500 people. Harvard didn't have a Facebook, so that's the gap that we were trying to fill. And in the video comments, some people seem almost nostalgic for the old Zuck. One user captured the sentiment by claiming, It's honestly heartbreaking and makes me sad to see what Mark has become and how void he is of emotions. I remember watching this early interview and seeing how lively he was. But looking at him today, I just feel sad to see how much he changed. But it is going to bother you because you're human and I was human. I am human still. Which begs the question, how did Zuck go from this awkward computer nerd to the ruthless billionaire we know today? Well, this leads on to the second key reason for Zuckerberg's terrible public image. You see, as we've established, before 2010, no one really knew who Zuckerberg was. And if they did, they didn't know that much about him. But Mark Zuckerberg's reputation would forever change once the movie The Social Network was released. After this movie, Zuckerberg's reputation would only go down from here. The Social Network was a movie by David Fincher, the director behind great films like Fight Club, Seven, Gone Girl and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. So at first, it seemed like this movie would have done wonders for Zuckerberg's public reputation. However, even though the film was critically acclaimed, it didn't exactly portray Zuckerberg in a very positive light, especially not to a global audience. Instead, the film portrays Zuckerberg creating his female student ranking website, backstabbing his friend and co-founder Eduardo and generally acting like a robotic, ruthless monster throughout the movie's runtime. Zuckerberg himself even commented on the film and didn't have any good things to say about it. In fact, he accused The Social Network of being overly fictitious and incredibly damaging to his reputation. And to be fair, The Social Network did have a very damning effect on Mark Zuckerberg's public reputation. Because after this movie was released, people became unsure of the man behind this growing phenomena of Facebook. And things would only get so much worse from here. But before we continue with the video, I want to talk to you about today's sponsor, BlockerX. 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It all started back in 2009, when Facebook had taken the controversial decision to change 350 million users' privacy settings, all without any warning. And then just one year later, Facebook would double down and begin to share even more personal information and user data with third parties. This change would begin a long line of changes to privacy on the website, which unfortunately for Zuckerberg didn't go unnoticed. It wouldn't take long for Facebook's own users to start protesting these changes. These changes were already starting to reflect badly on Zuckerberg himself. And soon enough, increasing amounts of people were starting to blame Mark Zuckerberg personally for the controversial privacy changes Facebook was making. But what was the goal behind all of this? Well for starters, these changes were definitely helping Zuckerberg's bottom line. In fact, this is the reason Zuckerberg is a billionaire in the first place. The more information about you that Facebook can freely distribute, the more they can give to advertisers. But it also goes way past that. Every like, every status, every scroll, all your history, all your internet data feeds into the shadowy algorithms behind your internet addiction. An addiction that was pioneered by Zuck himself. In fact, Mark Zuckerberg is the key architect behind our society's social media addiction. Back in the early 2010s, no one had any idea what was coming for them. But Zuckerberg did. Because Facebook is specifically designed to use something called behavioural design. A design that's now been adopted by almost all social media sites to addict you to their platforms. Behavioural design begins with a thing called motivation, which relates to whether or not someone would want to open the app in the first place. As people as social animals, we often take an interest in what our friends and family are up to. And by hijacking this basic human desire, Facebook steps in as a convenient middleman, giving us access to our loved ones at our fingertips. And once you open up Facebook, you're immediately prompted onto the next part of the behavioural design process. The action stage. This can be anything from leaving a comment, posting a status, or simply pushing a like button. But the key is for the action to be as straightforward as possible. The harder things are, the easier it is for users to break the attention loop. The final part of the process is the recursive element found in behavioural design. This is called the trigger. And it's what gets you to open the app over and over again. It's the most addictive part of all of this. This can be done through things like noise notifications, a phone vibration, or a ping on your computer. But whatever it is, all the trigger needs to do is remind you to open the app and the motivation will do the rest. By doing this, Facebook makes you have a habit of opening up the app every single day. Which is why social media has become so incredibly addictive for everyone. And Facebook was at the forefront of this design. The benefit of this loofer Zuckerbug is that every time a user falls into the system, they give Facebook more and more data. And as we've established, any kind of user data equates to more money going in Facebook's pockets. And in a way, this is kind of a genius business move. It's allowed Zuckerberg to create a monopoly on social media. And by the time people caught on to how Facebook became so successful, it was already too late. And so while Facebook collects as much data as it can on the populace, Zuckerberg works his hardest to safeguard his own privacy. Living in a secluded 750 acre mega mansion in Hawaii, secured by a six feet surrounding wall. Not to mention all his other extremely guarded mega mansions across the world. And when Zuckerberg does go online, his webcam is covered with masking tape. So it's surprising that someone so obsessed with privacy wouldn't respect everyone else's. And as we've established, Facebook knows every site, every event, every vehicle you use. Because Facebook is attached to so many other sites. It knows your browsing history even when you're not using Facebook. And this data isn't just being used to harvest more money out of you. Zuckerberg has also been caught doing all sorts of illicit things with it. And this first became apparent during 2012, when Zuckerberg conducted covert psychological operations on almost 700,000 unwitting Facebook users. The social experiment involved hiding certain emotional words from different users' news feeds, and viewing what effect those actions had on people. Participants would then be examined afterwards on whether they would react differently to their likes and statuses. Sherwood Sandberg, a top Facebook executive, would later apologize for this, saying that this research was poorly communicated. But only after Facebook was being investigated by the UK government for breaking the law. And it was these sorts of controversies that would catch up Zuckerberg and his reputation. Because 2012 marked the year that Zuckerberg would undergo the transformation from the socially awkward computer nerd to the hollowed out corporate facade we see today. Which leads us on to the next key reason for the public losing all trust in Zuckerberg. And that came from his public appearances. Now as we mentioned, Zuckerberg's early appearances in the media were generally met with positive reception. He just seemed like a normal guy with nerdy tendencies. But as Facebook was making billions every year, the controversies behind Facebook were catching up to Zuckerberg. Especially in regards to the data manipulation Zuckerberg was implementing. The concerns about this weren't as big as they are today, but questions were starting to be raised. And so when questioned about this, even gently, Zuckerberg would quickly crumble. As evidenced by one infamous interview, when Mark is asked a soft question about Facebook's record on privacy. And in response, Zuckerberg gave this long-winded answer about the origins of the company. All while sweating profusely. What we wanted to do and what we wanted to spend, you know, a big part of our lives doing, was just continuing to push and kind of build products that help people share information, build products that help people stay connected. After Zuckerberg had finished, it was clear that he was incredibly nervous. The presenters even joked about him taking his hoodie off. Maybe I should take off my hoodie. Take off the hoodie. This is a great moment in internet history. What? But Zuckerberg was nervous for a reason, as this was one of the first interviews that would completely crush his reputation. The comments on the video demonstrate this, as one user said, he's so nervous, he starts sweating immediately when they start talking about privacy. And this phenomenon would only continue in other public appearances by Zuckerberg. In another flub, Zuckerberg once said that he was human, then corrected himself twice, reassuring the audience that he is indeed a human. This was yet another thing for people to pounce on, and the comments aren't any more kind to Zuckerberg than usual, with people painting out the obvious jokes that come from this. More and more comments would just pile in against Zuckerberg. I can't possibly imagine a man seemingly obsessed with knowing every detail of everyone's life on earth being creepy or manipulative. But it wasn't just the public who now began to dislike Zuckerberg. In fact, this sentiment was coming all the way down from the top. From 2017 onwards, numerous interviews with Facebook insiders would come out, each driving home the same point, Facebook was purposely designed to be as addictive as possible. And the first notion of this was a notorious interview with the former president of Facebook, Sean Parker. Being one of the co-founders of Facebook, he claimed that Facebook's intention from the start was to quote, Straight from the horse's mouth, Facebook had always been designed with the intention of making something extremely addictive, no matter the cost to the human psyche. And I mean, why would Facebook care about this anyways? They're making billions from this. This is how Zuckerberg has accrued so much power over the world. You see, Sean Parker isn't the only Facebook insider talking about this issue either, as only a month later, another former Facebook executive had this to say. We have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works. We curate our lives around this perceived sense of perfection, because we get rewarded in these short-term signals, hearts, likes, thumbs up, and we conflate that with value and we conflate it with truth. And instead, what it really is, is fake, brittle popularity that's short-term and that leaves you even more vacant and empty before you did it. And from here, public trust in Zuckerberg would hit an all-time low. But this begs the question, what was behind this growing resentment towards Zuckerberg from the Facebook executives themselves? Well, this leads us on to one of the darker reasons Zuckerberg became so hated in recent years, and that being the political controversy surrounding Zuckerberg and Facebook as a whole. The most notable of which was the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the subsequent controversy surrounding it. You see, leading up to 2018, Facebook was being hit from all sides of the political spectrum for both censoring information and promoting quote, misinformation. And these political controversies hit ahead in 2018 when Facebook was implicated in a scandal concerning a political data analytics firm called Cambridge Analytica. Facebook and this organization were implicated in a massive user data breach of over 50 million accounts. This activity had been going on as far back as 2015. The whistleblower behind the scandal stated that Cambridge exploited Facebook to harvest millions of people's profiles and build models to exploit what we know about them and target their inner demons, all for outsider political purposes. And because of this fiasco, Facebook was then hit with a $5 billion fine by the FTC, the largest in its history. But of course, for someone like Zuckerberg, when you're running an empire like Facebook, $5 billion is just pocket change. But this was only the start. As 2018 was also the same year, Zuckerberg attended his infamous Congress hearing. Unsurprisingly, the Congressional hearing was concerning the blatant misuse and possibly illicit gathering of Facebook's user information. Overall, the Senate hearing was a complete sham as the Senator's inability to grasp basic concepts meant that nearly all the questions they asked weren't relevant or particularly pressing. So how do you sustain a business model in which users don't pay for your service? Senator, we run ads. But one of the standout moments from the hearing was when Zuckerberg was asked if he was comfortable revealing the name of the hotel he stayed at. Zuckerberg declined and funnily enough stated that he thinks, Yes, Senator, I think everyone should have control over how their information is used. It should be obvious by now that these were only hollow words and it was becoming clear to everyone that Zuckerberg was a hollowed out corporate shell of a human being. People all across the internet were laughing at Zuckerberg and the hatred was growing. Quote, as one comment stated, I love how the Senator wipes the floor with Zuckerberg and his goons and wipes the smile off their faces. For a hearing that didn't really lead anywhere, this question was a rare moment of catharsis. But of course, the reaction to the scandal after the Senate hearing, there was outrage. Hashtag delete Facebook quickly surfaced as the top trending hashtag on Twitter. And when Zuckerberg's quote that I read recently, that what's good for the world is not necessarily good for Facebook. I'm like, that's it. Shut it down. He said that? Yeah. Wow. Burn it to the ground. Yeah. Pull out, pull out, pull out. The WhatsApp founder who sold his company to Facebook even joined the call. One former Facebook employee even claimed that Facebook turned a blind eye to political manipulation by foreign governments. With Sophie Zhang giving US law enforcement documents revealing potential criminal violations surrounding the company's actions. And given the fact that Sophie is willing to testify about this to Congress, in all likelihood, she's probably right. In fact, Facebook actively works in conjunction with multinationals, governments, and intelligence agencies to censor information. They control what people see, all while promoting whatever the powers above Facebook deem acceptable. Just recently, Zuckerberg works with the FBI to censor all information on the Hunter Biden laptop story before the 2020 election. This is all because free speech doesn't exist for those in power. Even though the point of free speech is to secure the rights of the unpopular, being the only thing that allows contrary opinions to exist, this no longer matters. With Facebook's growth, this free speech sentiment has been thrown in the toilet. In just the last few years, we see more and more supposed thought criminals being wiped from social media, whose businesses and livelihoods are stripped away from them for asking the wrong things, for saying the wrong things. In fact, it's for this reason that so many journalists and commentators are no longer able to question big pharma, big tech, and government actions. That's why there's no more Edward Snowdens. That's why more often than not, the powerful are no longer held accountable. This big tech censorship, pioneered by Mark Zuckerberg, doesn't just destroy expression, it destroys thinking and innovation. Censorship leads to self-censorship, and in these last few years, the public has caught on to this. With yet another former Facebook executive coming out against Mark Zuckerberg, as he brought into question the huge amount of power over the world that Zuckerberg has. With former Facebook founder Chris Hughes calling out Mark Zuckerberg specifically when he said, but I'm angry that his focus on growth has led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks. Mark's power is unprecedented and un-American. Hughes also went on to describe how the only way to regulate Facebook would be to have some sort of competition. But regrettably, Facebook already has a monopoly on social media for years, and there's no sign it's coming to an end anytime soon. The simple fact is that Zuckerberg has control of one of the largest companies in the world. But it goes way beyond that. The data he has on three billion users across his platforms, gives him unprecedented power to swing public opinion. The algorithms behind Facebook clearly sow division between people. They rip apart the social fabric of society. And this isn't just me saying this, this is former Facebook executives admitting it. I mean, Facebook's meddling in elections is becoming all too apparent. This is being seen across the world. And because Zuckerberg now clearly has the power to swing elections and mold society in his image, people aren't all too happy of the fact. And as a result of this growing negative perception of Zuckerberg, he's now doubling down on trying to seem more likable and normal. But when he's so clearly uncomfortable with it, it just comes off as creepy and inauthentic. People see past his veneer and what they find are scandal after scandal, all of which portray deep character flaws. And looking into the future, things are only going to get worse. Because one of the most recent moves by Zuckerberg has been the most concerning of all. And that being the development of the metaverse. Not content with influencing society through social media, Zuckerberg has been trying to establish his own universe. Recent press releases on the metaverse have been mocked for looking awful, especially with his creepy dead-eyed avatar. It was later replaced with a more boyish looking avatar, but the damage had already been done. But despite the negative reactions, the metaverse is the next step in his plan and will be Facebook's main focus for many years to come. Where you will live inside a universe entirely controlled by Zuckerberg. Where you shop, where you work, where you socialize and where you find love will all be within his universe. And right now this is happening. Facebook's already partnering up with massive brands like Ray-Ban, all to make the metaverse look trendy. Facebook insiders are worried about this. In fact, another whistleblower in 2021, leaked documents showing that Facebook was aware of the damage that its platform was causing, but didn't see a point in solving or even acknowledging it. And when asked about the metaverse, she had this to say. Facebook should have a transparency plan for the metaverse before they start building all this stuff. Because they can hide behind a wall, they keep making unforced errors. They keep making things that prioritize their own profits before safety. But as it stands, there is no plan in place. Instead, the metaverse will be an extension of Facebook. I mean, we already spend about six to seven hours a day on our phones already. And because of this, we give Facebook tons of data, even if we don't use Facebook itself. But once Zuckerberg's metaverse plan comes to fruition, the amount of data they will access will be nearly infinite. The psychological frameworks to addict you to their platforms will become ever more strong. They will have the resources of three billion people under their thumbs, and they will use this against you. They'll check your emotions, your eye movements, your works, your thoughts, your speech. But the growing resentment towards Zuckerberg and Facebook may be the only thing that stops this from happening. As one comment describes, it's about an attempt to own the internet, forcing users to use one platform that tracks and sells your personal data every second you use it. Just like Facebook. It's also an attempt to drop you into a world that bombards you with ads, monetization of everything, and isolates people totally from the real world. Nothing about the metaverse makes me want to support it. The controversies, the backstabs, the gross misuse of data, the censorship, the addiction, the sheer unlikeability. These are the reasons that Zuckerberg is so hated. He has power the likes we've never seen before. No one voted for Mark Zuckerberg. He's a megalomaniac worth over 70 billion dollars. And whilst he's one of the most unpopular people on the planet, he could soon be the one in control of our new reality. And right now, there's nothing to stop him. With governments around the world, in fact, actually relying on Zuckerberg and all the other big tech giants. The only thing left to stop him is the users of Facebook. And so that raises the question, what's Zuckerberg going to do next?