SNL Skewers Mark Zuckerberg Ahead of His Trip to Congress

The head of Facebook will testify in Washington this week.

Noah Berger/AP

This week, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg heads to Washington for a marathon of hearings on Capitol Hill, following revelations that the social media giant learned more than two years ago that the data of up to 87 million of its users was obtained by political research firm Cambridge Analytica, and potentially used to influence the 2016 election. Zuckerberg’s lawmaker audience will likely be livid, and is expected to lob sharp questions at the tech billionaire about steps Facebook is taking to protect user privacy, and to avoid future interference by foreign actors in American elections. In preparation for the hearings, Facebook has hired an army of consultants and experts to give Zuckerberg “a crash course in humility and charm,” the New York Times reported on Sunday. The hearings will mark his first time testifying before Congress.

So it’s only natural that Zuckerberg this weekend got the satiric treatment before his debut in Washington. SNL cast member Alex Moffat played the Facebook founder doing a TV news interview about the upcoming hearings with an “anchor” played by SNL’s Colin Jost. Sporting Zuckerberg’s signature gray t-shirt, Moffat nailed the Facebook founder’s look and demeanor, while mercilessly mocking his company’s approach to personal data. 

Moffat’s Zuckerberg opens the interview with a robotic greeting to the TV host: “Begin eye contact — two, three and away,” he says, turning back to the camera. “Nailed it.”

Moffat’s Zuckerberg then proceeds to apologize, rather unsuccessfully, to Facebook users for mishandling their data, and then promises that Facebook is going to improve. 

“That’s great. So users will be able to delete their data?” Jost asks.

“No,” Zuckerberg replies. “Because it’s mine. You gave it to me. No backsies. And if you don’t like it, you can Zuck it!”

You can watch the full skit above. 

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate