--- title: "Former Facebook Exec Says Zuckerberg Has Surrounded Himself With Sycophants" description: "Conviction is easy if you're surrounded by a bunch of yes men — which Mark Zuckerberg just might be. And $15 billion down the line, that may not bode well." date: "2022-11-18" modified: "2022-11-18" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/facebook-exec-zuckerberg-sycophants" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "mark zuckerberg" - "Meta" - "metaverse" - "social media" --- # Former Facebook Exec Says Zuckerberg Has Surrounded Himself With Sycophants ![Conviction is easy if you're surrounded by a bunch of yes men — which Mark Zuckerberg just might be. And $15 billion down the line, that may not bode well.]() *\Image: AMY OSBORNE/AFP via Getty Images\* In just about a year, Facebook-turned-Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse vision has cost his company upwards of [$15 billion](), [cratering value]() and — at least in part — triggering mass company layoffs. That's a high price tag, especially when the Facebook creator has [shockingly little]() to show for it, both in actual technology and [public interest](). Indeed, it seems that every time Zuckerberg excitedly explains what his [currently-legless]() metaverse will one day hold, he's met with crickets — and a fair share of ridicule — at the town square. Most everyone finds themselves looking around and asking themselves the same question: who could this possibly be for, [other than Zucko himself]()? That question, however, doesn't really seem to matter to the [swashzuckling CEO](), who's either convinced that the public wants and needs his metaverse just as much as he does, or is simply just convicted to the belief that one day people will finally *get it.* After all, he's bet his company on this thing and needs the public to engage to stay financially viable long-term. And sure, points for conviction. But conviction is easy if you're surrounded by a bunch of yes men — which, [according to *Vanity Fair*](), the founder unfortunately is. And with $15 billion down the line, that may not bode well for the Silicon Valley giant. "The problem now is that Mark has surrounded himself with sycophants, and for some reason he's fallen for their vision of the future, which no one else is interested in," one former Facebook exec told *Vanity Fair*. "In a previous era, someone would have been able to reason with Mark about the company's direction, but that is no longer the case." Given that previous reports have revealed that some Meta employees have taken to [marking metaverse documents]() with the label "MMA" — "Make Mark Happy" — the revelation that he's limited his close circle to people who only agree with him isn't all that shocking. He wants the metaverse, he wants it bad, and he's put a mind-boggling amount of social and financial capital into his AR-driven dream. While the majority of his many thousands of employees might disagree with him — *Vanity Fair* reports that current and former metamates have written things like "the metaverse will be our slow death" and "Mark Zuckerberg will single-handedly kill a company with the metaverse" on the Silicon Valley-loved Blind app — it's not exactly easy, or even that possible, to wrestle with the fact that you may have made a dire miscalculation this financially far down the road. And if you just keep a close circle of people who just agree with you, you may not really have to confront that potential for failure. At least not for a while. The truth is that Zuckerberg successfully created a thing that has impacted nearly every single person on this Earth. Few people can say that. And while it can be argued that the thing he built has, at its best, created some real avenues for connection, that same creation also seems to have led to his own isolation, [in life]() and at work. How ironic it is that he's marketed his metaverse on that [same promise]() of connection, only to become more disconnected than ever. **READ MORE:** *["Mark Has Surrounded Himself with Sycophants": Zuckerberg's Big Bet on the Metaverse Is Backfiring]()* \[*Vanity Fair*\] **More on the Meta value:** *[Stock Analyst Cries on Tv Because He Recommended Facebook Stock]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()