Mark Zuckerberg is losing friends faster than Daenerys Targaryen is losing dragons. Ever since the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke, Mark Zuckerberg’s personal reputation, as well as the reputation of Facebook, has taken a deep nose-dive. Many who stood by him and Facebook in the past have changed their opinions drastically.
Break-up of Facebook?
The latest to join the ranks of prominent figures speaking out publicly against Facebook is Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. Hughes recently wrote a critical opinion piece, published in the New York Times, calling for a break-up of Facebook.
Putting forward the argument that the company has gotten too big for its own good, he contends that Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram should be three separate public companies.
In response, Facebook has stated that it welcomes more accountability for its actions from lawmakers around the globe, but decoupling Instagram and WhatsApp from its core service would be a step too far for the social media giant.
Chris Hughes has now criticised Mark Zuckerberg
Chris Hughes is not alone in his condemnation of Facebook, though. Ever since the tide of public opinion turned against Facebook and its CEO, many former employees, investors, and allies have criticized Mark Zuckerberg and his company publicly.
Roger McNamee, once a mentor to Zuckerberg and an early investor in Facebook, even wrote a book, titled “Zucked: Waking up to the Facebook Catastrophe”, slamming Zuckerberg and Facebook. Brian Acton, the co-founder of Whatsapp – a company that Facebook acquired in 2014 – has gone on record telling people to “delete Facebook”.
In fact, even Sean Parker who was Facebook’s founding president has expressed serious reservations about social media’s impact on people’s mental health.
Beleaguered by such constant criticism from those he once considered allies, Mark Zuckerberg has surely been put in a tight corner. Perhaps, it is time for Mark to make some real-life friends he can count on.