Oh how ironic it is that in the same week Mark Zuckerberg tries to show himself as a likeable high-fiving cartoon character who takes a leisurely tour of ravaged Puerto Rico, South Park savagely takes him down in cartoon-fashion too? In a biting snipe at the Facebook chief, the show presents him as an evil man who secretly loves fake news for its surefire moneymaking effects. What a week he’s having.
The episode has the gang form a superhero squad and tries to sell Netflix a series about their epic adventures. But their arch-nemesis, Professor Chaos, discredits them, destroying their reputation by releasing fake news on Facebook and then promoting the content using Facebook ads. A model that has worked quite well for others in the past.
Unfortunately for them, their parents read the not entirely flattering fake news. And in a rage, their parents invite Zuckerberg into town where he turns out to be a rather annoying arm-waving caricature. Sounds eerily similar to another cartoon-version of Zuckerberg.
When asked why they would let Professor Chaos spread fake news about the kids, Zuckerberg replies: “Simple, he paid me $17.23”.
Then in a brutal and true criticism of the social network, Professor Chaos sums up the relationship between Facebook and fake news in one swift, transparent statement.
“I make money from Facebook for my fake content in order to pay Facebook to promote my fake stories.”
Cue burn gif.
The episode arrived at an unfortunate time for the Facebook CEO who was rightly slammed for misjudging the mood with a VR-advertorial visiting disaster-hit Puerto Rico.
So two cartoon missteps for Mark Zuckerberg this week – and while he can grumble about his turn on South Park, the one broadcast live on Facebook is entirely of his own making.
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