Mark Zuckerberg might not be the most popular figure in Silicon Valley, but it’s easy to empathize with him regarding one thing: having a movie made about your life would be quite strange. During an appearance on the podcast of YouTubers Colin and Samir, Zuckerberg recounted his experience watching “The Social Network” for the first and only time.
“It was weird, man,” he remarked. “They got a lot of specific details right, like what I was wearing, but the overall narrative about my motivations was completely off.”
The fifteen-year-old film came up in conversation because Zuckerberg was wearing a t-shirt that Jesse Eisenberg, who portrayed him in the movie, wore on screen. Zuckerberg had purchased the shirt at an auction. While he was once known for his plain grey t-shirts, he has since put more thought into his wardrobe, suggesting that his choice of shirt was intentional.
Zuckerberg noted that he anticipated his employees would be curious about the film, so he organized a company outing to watch it together. He pointed out that the film’s storyline implies he was driven by a desire to find a girlfriend, even though he was already dating Priscilla Chan when he started Facebook. This interpretation may stem from Facemash, a controversial website he created as a student, where users could vote on the attractiveness of their classmates. While it gained popularity among some students, it also angered others who felt it invaded their privacy, as Zuckerberg had used private servers to scrape student ID photos for the site.
“It’s unfortunate how people create narratives around the founding of these platforms,” Zuckerberg said. He dismissed the notion that Facemash was a precursor to Facebook, arguing that after over two decades, the association persists largely because of “The Social Network.” “I was just a kid,” he added
