Mark Zuckerberg

Controversies

• Watchdog groups including Amnesty International accused Facebook of amplifying hate in the years leading up to the genocide of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar. In 2021, whistleblower Frances Haugan, a former Facebook product manager, testified to Congress that Facebook was “literally fanning ethnic violence” in Ethiopia by failing to police Facebook’s use in Ethiopia, which Zuckerberg denied. According to a Reuters special report, Facebook failed to promptly heed numerous warnings from organizations in Myanmar about social media posts fueling attacks on the Rohingya. In 2018, Facebook admitted: “we have been too slow to prevent misinformation on Facebook.”
• Meta was fined $567 million in August 2026 by a judge in New Mexico in a child safety ruling that compares Meta’s impacts on child psychology as akin to environmental pollution. This is in addition to $375 million in penalties Meta was already ordered to pay for misleading users about child safety issues, for a total of $942 million. According to news reports as of October 2026, Meta has stated an intention to appeal both rulings.
• In October 2026, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion for misleading users about data privacy. According to news reports as of October 2026, the company plans to appeal the decision.
• In August 2026, Meta settled similar cases from a coalition of 29 state attorneys general over products causing severe mental health and child brain development impacts on young people. The case argues that Meta’s platforms keep children hooked on their platforms and has misled users about the safety of these products. Additionally, all 29 states argue that the company illegally collects and uses children's data, and in so doing violates federal law.
• In 2018, the Steve Bannon-linked Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed that 50 million Facebook users’ data was harvested and used to aid campaigns in support of Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential election.
• In 2016, Meta began “Project Atlas,” where it paid teens and others up to age 35 $20 a month to install a “research app” that vacuumed up their private messages, web searches, and location data—disguised as a third-party beta test. It was not uncovered until three years later.
• Personally greenlit “Project Ghostbusters,” a “man-in-the-middle” attack on apps like Snapchat and YouTube to get a peek at their analytics as competition. According to TechCrunch, Facebook’s then-head of security engineering expressed concern over the project, saying, “I can’t think of a good argument for why this is okay. No security person is ever comfortable with this, no matter what consent we get from the general public. The general public just doesn’t know how this stuff works.”
• Has personally hosted private events with far right public figures like Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson, who have large followings on Meta’s social media platforms.
• Meta announced in early 2026 plans to spend $65 million supporting state politicians who are friendly to the AI industry.

Obscene Spending

• Built an estate in Kauai, Hawaii, estimated to cost $300 million, part of which is built on top of a burial ground. Zuckerberg is one of the largest landowners in Hawaii.
• Spent $27 million in 2024 alone on private security detail.
• Owns a $300 million superyacht.

Enabling

AI Data Centers

With backing from Donald Trump, Meta has put AI and data center infrastructure at the center of its business. Data centers are wildly unpopular, with 7 in 10 Americans saying in March they opposed data center construction where they live, citing their role in skyrocketing utility bills, massive consumption of water, and reliance on fossil fuels. Meta expects to spend at least $130 billion on data center buildout in 2026.

Already built data centers have been linked to potential health issues across the country. In Newton County, Georgia, Meta began construction on a massive data center in 2018 that has created severe water access issues for residents as well as unprecedented water rate hikes for local residents, who claim they have become afraid to drink their own well water. In planning the building of the data center, the company also bulldozed an oak tree forest in the area. Residents are reporting low water pressure and brown water coming from their taps, and needing to replace their water filters monthly instead of yearly as was previously the case. After wastewater from the construction and commissioning of a Meta data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming entered the city’s wastewater network, a rare bacteria called Cupriavidus gilardii was detected in the city’s reclaimed water supply. While city officials reported that the bacteria was not found in the drinking supply, there was concern that residents could experience the effects of this contamination via inhaling aerosolized droplets when reclaimed waste water is used for processes such as irrigation.

Aiding and Abetting Immigration and Customs Enforcement

At the height of resistance to ICE’s occupation of Minneapolis, MN in January 2026, Meta prevented users on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads from sharing a database containing the names and photos of US ICE Enforcement agents. Meta began blocking the database, which the creator described as an attempt to track ICE agents and vehicles to hold them accountable for abuses of power, from its platforms. The database included a page that was created where people could submit tips about the ICE agents involved in Alex Pretti’s fatal shooting.

The database was being shared as thousands of people were being unlawfully arrested and there were two fatal shootings of residents by ICE agents. While Meta claimed that the database violated its privacy policy, critics point out that the sites are inconsistent in their enforcement of this policy given that users of these sites regularly share other types of websites that contain personal information.