Facebook & Zuckerberg: From the Capitol to the Tarpeian Rock

It may not have escaped your attention that Mark Zuckerberg has a rather unique haircut, reminiscent of the short, curly hairstyles of the emperors of ancient Rome, with a wide forehead (a sign of ambition).

Like Caesar in his time, stormed by tribunes including his son Brutus ("Tu quoque, fili"), the founder of Facebook is attacked from all sides. By US senators, by investigative journalists from the Wall Street Journal and now by his own flock, since Frances Haugen, a former executive of the company and now a whistleblower, has dealt the final blow by publicly denouncing what is going on behind the scenes at the social network.

For this week's cartoon, we were inspired by Vincenzo Camuccini's famous 1805 painting of Caesar being put to death by the City Senators. by the senators of the Eternal City, which seemed to us to represent with a disconcerting similarity the situation in which Mark Zuckerberg currently finds himself.

As a reminder, in ancient times, the Tarpeian Rock was a rocky ridge located at the end of the Capitol, one of the 7 hills of Rome, from which those condemned to death were thrown. This expression was a reminder, if it were necessary, that there is only one step from glory to decay.

 

By Amandine Victor