--- title: "Former Employee Accuses Zuckerberg of Brandishing Ninja Sword When He Was Angry With Programmers" description: "In a viral TikTok, a former Facebook coder has alleged that Facebook-turned-Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once threatened workers with an katana sword." date: "2022-07-01" modified: "2022-07-01" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mark-zuckerberg-ninja-sword" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "ceo" - "facebook" - "Meta" - "the digest" --- # Former Employee Accuses Zuckerberg of Brandishing Ninja Sword When He Was Angry With Programmers ![]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Arrrr! Extremely chill, totally okay behavior alert! In a [viral TikTok](), a former Facebook coder has alleged that Facebook-turned-Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once threatened workers with an katana sword. As for why Zuck felt the need to unsheathe a large, bladed weapon in the office? The video's creator, Noah Kagan, offers the simple reasoning that he "didn’t like the code and the stuff we were putting out on the website." This isn't the first time that Kagan has publicly mentioned the katana incident. He provided an even more in-depth look at the debacle in a book titled "[How I Lost 170 Million Dollars: My Time as #30 at Facebook]()," which he released back in 2014. "He had some great motivational lines," read the account. "With love, he’d say 'If you don't get that done sooner, I will punch you in the face,' or 'I will chop you with this huge sword,' while holding a huge sword in hand. To this day, I don't know why he had that sword." ## Sore Loser Kagan, now the CEO of an outfit called AppSumo, listed other "weird" things that went on at the tech giant, including the accusation its perennially cringe founder "still wanted his money back" after losing a game of poker to PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. Zuckerberg also apparently payed for all Facebook employee parking tickets, according to the TikTok. Strange perk, but cooler than threatening to "chop" people, however facetiously. Kagan worked for the tech giant back in 2005, when the social media platform and its sword-brandishing founder were quite young. He was also only there for nine months, and times have certainly changed in the years since he was let go. It's unclear if [Facebook's Eye of Sauron]() is swashbuckling through the Meta offices in 2022 — but we might be willing to bet a few [Zuck Bucks]() that the katana is still lurking somewhere in the company's hallowed halls. **More on Zuckerberg bloodlust:** [*Mark Zuckerberg Says He Hunts Wild Boar with a Bow and Arrow*]() ## 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]()