A LOW ‘MARK’
Facebook execs’ Puerto Rico VR cartoon is …
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has apologized after inserting a smiling cartoon likeness of himself into images of hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico to show off a new virtual-reality platform.
In a bizarre Facebook Live video on the social network’s VR app, Spaces, Zuckerberg and Facebook social VR chief Rachel Franklin gave a virtual tour of the devastated island, with their cartoon avatars awkwardly pointing out the damage that Hurricane Maria wrought when it made landfall more than two weeks ago.
The pair appeared in front of flooded homes and badly damaged landscapes, and Zuckerberg’s avatar grinned as he called virtual reality “magical” while standing in front of a group of men observing the wreckage on their island.
At one point, the tone-deaf Zuckerberg and Franklin made their avatars high-five to demonstrate their new technology — before a completely flooded neighborhood.
When the pair were done with their tour, Zuckerberg casually asked if Franklin wanted to “teleport somewhere else,” to which she suggested, “Maybe California?”
The 33-year-old tech tycoon’s VR adventure started out with the best of intentions: to explain the ways Facebook is contributing to the recovery effort, including donating $1.5 million to hurricane relief organizations.
But in the end, the marketing effort around the donation fell flat.
Zuckerberg got blasted for his tasteless stunt on his social media page and beyond.
“Is this a joke? The Puerto Ricans are suffering and you are using our tragedy for this??” one Facebook user commented. “Heartless billionaire.”
“Zuckerberg’s VR tour of Puerto Rico is everything bad about Silicon Valley. People live in a bubble there, and need to visit the real world,” one Twitter user wrote.
“For what it’s worth ‘A cartoon Mark Zuckerberg toured hurricane-struck Puerto Rico in virtual reality’ is a headline worthy of The Onion,” wrote another.
Zuckerberg tried to do damage control by explaining that, with an Oculus headset on his face, it really did feel like he was in Puerto Rico, and he had not anticipated how poorly the optics would translate to a third party viewing it.
“I realize this wasn’t clear, and I’m sorry to anyone this offended,” he said.
Over the past several weeks, the Facebook poobah has been forced to apologize for several missteps.
In late September, he announced that his company would be sharing 3,000 Russian-affiliated ads with government investigators and would be taking steps to protect election integrity.
He also made an apology on the final day of Yom Kippur, asking Facebook users for forgiveness about the way his platform has been used in recent months.
Zuckerberg has tried to quickly turn the page on this VR disaster, and Wednesday announced the early 2018 debut of the “Oculus Go,” a $199 VR headset that works without being hooked up to a phone or computer.