In The News

Mark Zuckerberg’s Testimony At Congress: Best Social Media Reactions

4 months ago No Comments

Mark Zuckerberg’s facing off with members of the U.S. government and the court of public opinion this week.

On Wednesday, the Facebook founder and CEO showed up for day two of his testimony before Congress regarding a data scandal involving Cambridge Analytica and the social media platform.

While the 33-year-old Harvard graduate attempted to truthfully answer difficult questions from government officials, the Internet was hard at work on their best Zuckerberg memes.

Facebook testimony congress

Mark Zuckerberg’s two-day testimony inspired dozens of memes on social media

A popular meme compared Zuckerberg to Data, the cyborg from Star Trek. The joke is a riff off a longstanding one about the tech guru being a robot.

This particular Zuckerberg-themed meme, or Zuck Meme, dominated social media on Wednesday in various forms. Some Twitter users shared side-by-sides of Zuckerberg and Data, who was played by Brent Spiner.

Facebook testimony congress

Others broke out the big guns, opening Photoshop to add the young billionaire to Star Trek scenes.

If that particular meme isn’t your cup of tea, fear not — there were no shortage of viral jokes made at the expense of all involved in Zuckerberg’s two-day testimony.

Who is Mark Zuckerberg?
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, born May 14, 1984, is the tech mogul responsible for the creation and founding of Facebook. He currently serves as the social media platform’s chairman and CEO.

Why is Mark Zuckerberg testifying?
Mark Zuckerberg is testifying before Congress following an apparent breach of privacy involving Facebook and a company called Cambridge Analytica. Zuckerberg has been tasked with proving that Facebook is going above and beyond to protect the privacy of its users.

Prepared remarks released on Monday by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce stated that Zuckerberg planned to take the blame for recent problems at Facebook.

The hearing was conducted by the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees. It began on Tuesday at 2:15 pm ET and picked up again on Wednesday at 10 am ET.

Facebook data scandal
Facebook is under fire after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica obtained data about millions of Facebook users without their knowledge or consent. An estimated 87 million Facebook users were affected by the breach.

On Monday, Facebook rolled out a tool allowing users to see how they were affected by the scandal. It lets users know if their data was accessed by Cambridge Analytica.

The rollout of this tool has been slow, however, so it will be a while before everyone who was affected is aware.

Best social media reactions to Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony

Mark Zuckerberg booster seat
Another majorly meme-worthy moment of Mark Zuckerberg’s two-part testimony was the fact that the techie opted to sit on a glorified booster seat throughout.

Although it was not visible to members of Congress seated in front of the Facebook creator, it was easy to see from rear and side camera angles, which were shown to those tuning in online and on TV.

Mark Zuckerberg full testimony

You can watch day one of Mark Zuckerberg’s two-day testimony before Congress here. The testimony is also being shown on C-SPAN.

Facebook stock price

As of Wednesday, the Facebook stock was being bought and sold for $167.65 (£118.29) per share.

If you know someone who might like this, please click “Share!”