Billionaire tech titan Mark Zuckerberg is a peculiar person, at least according to many online. But why do so many people seem to be weirded out by him?
The Meta founder, who rules over services such as Facebook and Instagram, always had a stereotypical nerd persona: a questionable haircut, social awkwardness, and what some may consider a slightly concerning blank stare.
Those attributes and others have led to sarcastic claims over the years that Zuckerberg, commonly referred to as Zuck or The Zuck, is hiding some dark secret about his origins.
One of the defining moments for Zuck's lore came long after he had first been accused of being anything but human.
While speaking to high school students at Facebook's headquarters back in 2014, Zuck gave a fumbling answer when asked how he deals with obstacles in his life.
“You kind of need to remind yourself that you need to focus and try not to let stuff bother you as much as possible, but it is going to bother you because you’re human,” Zuckerberg said. “I was human. I am human, still. But, um, but I was just referring to myself in the past. Not that I was not human.”
Unsurprisingly, the moment quickly went viral for Zuck, who at that point was no stranger to being memed. But if people think Zuckerberg isn't human, what exactly is he?
We've all likely heard about the lizard conspiracy theory, which claims that the world's ruling class is comprised of shape-shifting reptilian aliens hellbent on global domination.
And to no surprise, Zuck is one of many figures to be drawn into the conspiratorial claim. In fact, Zuck in 2016 went as far as to outright deny being a lizard during a Q&A livestream.
“Mark, are the allegations true that you’re secretly a lizard?” said a question Zuckerberg read aloud. “I’m gonna have to go with ‘no’ on that. I am not a lizard."
But the denials have done little to kill the meme.
When Zuck is not being compared to a cold-blooded reptile, the tech heavyweight is instead being called a bloodless automaton.
Is it the blank stare? The lack of blinking? The monotone voice? Or the suspiciously rigorous posture? Who knows. But Zuck has been compared to a robot on more than one occasion.
The most robotic moment came in 2022, when Zuck sat before the Senate. During his testimony, Zuck took a sip of water that didn't quite sit right with much of the internet.
The sip was viewed as lifeless and staged, something a robot looking to pass itself off as a human would do.
The moment went so viral that Zuck eventually addressed the infamous sip during an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that same year. Zuck argued that such hearings are not "set up to accentuate the humanity of the subject."
Either way, the Zuck robot memes live on.
So if Zuck isn't a lizard or robot, what else could he be? Internet users seem to agree that the only other possible answer is an alien.
Just this year, claims regarding Zuck's alleged extraterrestrial nature resurfaced once again while the billionaire was on a trip to India.
"You can't convince me Mark Zuckerberg isn't an alien, wearing a skin suit, trying to be human," one X user wrote.
And of course, we can't forget when Zuck was photographed in Hawaii with an absurd amount of sunscreen on his face in 2021.
"I told you mark zuckerberg is an Alien you all don't believe me," an X user said.
Zuckerberg later alleged during a live chat on Instagram that he had used the generous amount of sunscreen to fool the paparazzi. Yet despite the sunblock, the Zuck still got roasted.
At the end of the day, nearly all Zuck memes are made in jest. The Zuck is definitely human. Or at least we're fairly certain he is.
But admit it. Deep down all of us wish he was anything other than human. Because a human Zuck isn't as fun as a lizard. And clearly, all the money in the world can't stop you from being awkward. So thankfully for the internet, the Zuck memes will live on.
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