Mark Zuckerberg ‘being human’ in a recent interview clip sparked a flood of passionate online reactions.
The social media mogul, 40, spoke with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang in July. The outlet shared a bonus segment of an outdoorsy Zuckerberg on Thursday.
But many saw the interview as a strange attempt from the notably robotic billionaire to seem more relatable, down to earth and generally ‘normal.’
‘This is bait right? You can’t talk about humanity with something that is not human,’ some wrote underneath the YouTube post.
Down to the video’s title – Mark Zuckerberg on Life, History and Being Human – viewers were convinced this was some kind of ploy to sway public perception of him.
‘I had to laugh at the title,’ one person commented. ‘Human…..Zuckerberg human?’
Someone agreed: ‘What does he know about being human?’
Set at Zuckerberg’s $59 million Lake Tahoe compound, he told Chang about his family, parenting experiences and hobbies – even taking the journalist lake surfing with him and his wife Priscilla Chan, 39.
‘If there’s a place people can go to escape technology, it’s the middle of Lake Tahoe. But this is the setting where Zuckerberg shows how oblivious he is to most of humanity,’ SFGate columnist Julie Brown Davis wrote.
Zuckerberg, Chang and Chan sat on a boat in the lake while the businessman spoke about braiding his child’s hair. He added how his third kid’s first word was ‘brr’ – the sound a bear makes.
As the interview progressed, Chang asked if Zuckerberg’s lake home was an escape from his fast-paced life in Palo Alto, California.
The Meta CEO responded: ‘I don’t know, I like being in Palo Alto and out there, too. But it’s just kind of nice to spend time up here over the summer and get the kids out on the lake and teach them some different sports.’
Following up on his response, Chang asked if Zuckerberg was ’embracing his billionaire era’ with his Lake Tahoe and Hawaii properties, as well as his yacht.
Zuckerberg tried to stay humble in his reply and did not address the monetary aspect of the question.
He explained that at his Kauai property is used mainly for ranching and described the ‘doomsday’ bunker in the basement there as a ‘little shelter’ after Chang inquired about it.
‘I think it got like blown out of proportion as if the whole ranch was some kind of like doomsday bunker, which is not just not true,’ Zuckerberg casually clarified.
One commenter reacted: ‘The beginning where he tried to explain his apocalypse bunker was very sus.’
‘Why not just jump into the METAVERSE it’s safer,’ someone humorously added.
He spoke about his love of history – specifically the Roman Empire – and his support of AI software.
Zuckerberg disclosed that he has a fairly good life ‘balance’ that allows him to enjoy his life outside of work, offering the audience a peak into his childhood.
He told Chang: ‘My parents emphasized that it’s important to do more than just academics. Like they wanted us to do sports – I mean, I used to fence pretty competitively – when I was younger.
‘I want our kids to be like that too, we teach them surfing, Ju-jitsu and martial arts.’
Out on the lake, Chang started asking Chan, who runs the philanthropic Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, about how AI ties in with science.
After the briefly academic chat, the trio jumped into the water to start lake surfing – when a boat tugs a surfboard through the lake.
Chang went first, struggling to stand up on the board while Zuckerberg and Chan cheered her on.
Zuckerberg went after her, effortlessly gliding along the boat-made waves. At one point, someone tossed him a can that he caught with both hands.
She references a video circulating the internet of Zuckerberg lake surfing in a tuxedo while drinking from a can and waving an American flag – a bizarre scene that caused many to question if it was real or not.
‘I’m here to say, he’s human and he really did it,’ Chang said.
The last portion of the nearly 10-minute segment contains a more serious discussion of technology.
Chang asked: ‘Do you think tech changed the very essence of what it means to be human?’
Zuckerberg said: ‘It frees us up to be more creative and more focused on living out our values.’
The interview concluded after Chang gifting Zuckerberg with a large bottle of sunscreen as she giggled.
She was likely poking fun at a viral picture of Zuckerberg with his face smothered in sunscreen.
Swarms of viewers has the same idea in mind – ‘He has no idea what “being human” even is.’
‘He ain’t human. He’s an alien,’ another jabbed.
One commenter described this video as a ‘PR campaign; for Zuckerberg to prove his humanism.
‘He loaded the human emotion for this interview,’ someone joked.
Despite being the brunt of several jests and receiving backlash, a few Zuckerberg fans enjoyed learning a bit more about him.
‘Thank you, Mark, for doing this. I’m glad people like you are interacting with the public through interviews like this,’ one user said.
‘He’s like surprisingly down to earth and normal,’ another added.
One user even praised Zuckerberg’s character: ‘Great dude, enjoys life, nature, tech and interested in history.’
