A sea of life-size Mark Zuckerberg cardboard cutouts went up on the U.S. Capitol lawn on Tuesday, in advance of the Facebook CEO’s testimony before the Senate.
The stunt is the work of activist group Avaaz, which demands that Zuckerberg and government regulators “fix fakebook” and work to combat disinformation campaigns ahead of upcoming elections.
“Enough is enough. We call on you to protect our democracies and immediately,” the group said in an “open letter” to Zuckerberg, which at the time of writing had received more than 910,000 signatures. “Crucial elections are just months away. Facebook’s motto used to be Move Fast and Break Things. Now you need to Move Fast and Fix Things.”
Tuesday will mark Zuckerberg’s first testimony before Congress, with a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees to discuss how Facebook handles user data in light of a recent data leak. He is also expected to discuss the platform’s role in “fake news” dissemination and foreign interference in U.S. elections.
Advocacy group Avaaz placed 100 life-sized Zuckerberg cutouts on the Capitol Lawn Tuesday morning. Later today, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before Congressional investigators examining data privacy. Video via @CBSNews pic.twitter.com/MB1DDkjO6j
— Anaridis Rodriguez (@Anaridis) April 10, 2018