9 ms·

I can't see history being especially kind to Mark Zuckerberg.

RcouF1uZ4gsC 6y ago
The thing is, history is written by the winners. Depending on which side wins ultimately wins the cultural and political battle, I could see future school children learning in history class how Mark Zuckerberg was a hero for standing virtually alone for the principles of free speech when all the other big media and big tech companies sought to censor conservative voices. If the other side wins, then Mark Zuckerberg will be vilified as an ally of the horrible, racist alt-right. History, and how history views stuff is not a passive thing, but an active thing based on winners and losers.
- tsimionescu 6y ago
  This is an old trope, and only half true. You only have to look at the Bible to see that some figures who absolutely won in their lifetimes and for many years afterwards can nevertheless ultimately be remembered as demons - King Herod and Pontius Pilate being good examples here.
  - Svip 6y ago
    I thought the trope 'history is written by winners' is not just that the winners of the time when it happened, but more importantly the 'winners' (i.e. rulers) of the time when the story is being told. Our perception of history change, because the powers that be (i.e. the winners) change.
  - fiblye 6y ago
    And Rome became a Christian empire and the story that remained was what we know today.
osrec 6y ago
I agree with you in the long term, but in the short term, it will be quite the opposite, given the level of control his platform currently enjoys.
- s1t5 6y ago
  Really? Who actually views Zuckerberg positively?
  - luckylion 6y ago
    There are probably a few, but "who likes him today" isn't necessarily a good predictor for how they're considered in the future. Plenty of people weren't liked much in their time but have lots of fans today.
  - malandrew 6y ago
    I do. Despite the amount of pressure he has on him, he’s done better with trying to support free speech than I would expect most people have have done. I blame most of Facebook’s missteps on the aggregate decisions of many FB employees that have less conviction on free speech than he does. No company the size of Facebook could achieve a perfect response in real-time. Facebook’s greatest challenge is being headquartered in a place that is an ideological echo chamber chamber with not enough diversity of thought politically.
    - zarkov99 6y ago
      While I agree that FB is operated mostly by people with a strong political bias, I do not think that is the biggest problem with FB. I think its much simpler than that: FB makes money out of user engagement and the most direct way to engagement is via outrage. To correct this it would take the decency to accept a loss in revenue. Zuckerberg does not seem to be the man for that task.
  - osrec 6y ago
    A lot of kids consider him the ultimate success story. In India, the prime minister welcomed him like a hero. That alone would have influenced a billion people to think of him positively. I personally don't like the guy, but believe me, there are a ton of people that assume his success is a sign of him being good and righteous.
    - 6y ago
nabla9 6y ago
I'm not so sure. Bill Gates was Zuckerberg of 80s and 90s. Very unethical tactics, self admitted bully. Tried to screw his best friend of MS stocks. MS monnopoly strategy hindered innovation software development for a long time. Now in the retirement he is perceived favourably and seen in positive light.
- sdigital 6y ago
  He is actually hated fervently by a large crowd that believes in various Covid conspiracy theories. Most any recent video of Gates on Youtube will have top comments that are along these lines.
  - kelnos 6y ago
    Sure, but this "large crowd" is still a tiny tiny fraction of the number of people who hated Gates in the 80s and 90s.

The thing is, history is written by the winners. Depending on which side wins ultimately wins the cultural and political battle, I could see future school children learning in history class how Mark Zuckerberg was a hero for standing virtually alone for the principles of free speech when all the other big media and big tech companies sought to censor conservative voices. If the other side wins, then Mark Zuckerberg will be vilified as an ally of the horrible, racist alt-right. History, and how history views stuff is not a passive thing, but an active thing based on winners and losers.

tsimionescu 6y ago
This is an old trope, and only half true. You only have to look at the Bible to see that some figures who absolutely won in their lifetimes and for many years afterwards can nevertheless ultimately be remembered as demons - King Herod and Pontius Pilate being good examples here.
- Svip 6y ago
  I thought the trope 'history is written by winners' is not just that the winners of the time when it happened, but more importantly the 'winners' (i.e. rulers) of the time when the story is being told. Our perception of history change, because the powers that be (i.e. the winners) change.
- fiblye 6y ago
  And Rome became a Christian empire and the story that remained was what we know today.

osrec 6y ago

I agree with you in the long term, but in the short term, it will be quite the opposite, given the level of control his platform currently enjoys.

s1t5 6y ago
Really? Who actually views Zuckerberg positively?
- luckylion 6y ago
  There are probably a few, but "who likes him today" isn't necessarily a good predictor for how they're considered in the future. Plenty of people weren't liked much in their time but have lots of fans today.
- malandrew 6y ago
  I do. Despite the amount of pressure he has on him, he’s done better with trying to support free speech than I would expect most people have have done. I blame most of Facebook’s missteps on the aggregate decisions of many FB employees that have less conviction on free speech than he does. No company the size of Facebook could achieve a perfect response in real-time. Facebook’s greatest challenge is being headquartered in a place that is an ideological echo chamber chamber with not enough diversity of thought politically.
  - zarkov99 6y ago
    While I agree that FB is operated mostly by people with a strong political bias, I do not think that is the biggest problem with FB. I think its much simpler than that: FB makes money out of user engagement and the most direct way to engagement is via outrage. To correct this it would take the decency to accept a loss in revenue. Zuckerberg does not seem to be the man for that task.
- osrec 6y ago
  A lot of kids consider him the ultimate success story. In India, the prime minister welcomed him like a hero. That alone would have influenced a billion people to think of him positively. I personally don't like the guy, but believe me, there are a ton of people that assume his success is a sign of him being good and righteous.
  - 6y ago

nabla9 6y ago

I'm not so sure. Bill Gates was Zuckerberg of 80s and 90s. Very unethical tactics, self admitted bully. Tried to screw his best friend of MS stocks. MS monnopoly strategy hindered innovation software development for a long time. Now in the retirement he is perceived favourably and seen in positive light.

sdigital 6y ago
He is actually hated fervently by a large crowd that believes in various Covid conspiracy theories. Most any recent video of Gates on Youtube will have top comments that are along these lines.
- kelnos 6y ago
  Sure, but this "large crowd" is still a tiny tiny fraction of the number of people who hated Gates in the 80s and 90s.