--- title: "Mark Zuckerberg’s Friend Says He Has Three Distinct Personas" description: "According to Spotify founder Daniel Ek, there's more to his old friend Mark Zuckerberg than meets the eye." date: "2023-09-28" modified: "2023-09-28" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mark-zuckerberg-three-personas" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "facebook" - "mark zuckerberg" - "Meta" - "the digest" --- # Mark Zuckerberg’s Friend Says He Has Three Distinct Personas ![According to Spotify founder Daniel Ek, there's more to his old friend Mark Zuckerberg than meets the eye.]() *\Image: Nathan Howard via Getty / Futurism\* ## Triple Zuck According to Spotify founder Daniel Ek, there are more Mark Zuckerbergs than meet the eye. In a [new interview with *Forbes*](), Ek — a close friend to fellow billionaire and Meta-formerly-Facebook overlord Zuckerberg — explained that Zuck has three distinct personas, at least in the public's imagination. According to Ek, there's the "The Social Network Mark," an awkward, egotistical young founder who abandons his friends in his quest to build the Silicon Valley behemoth that became Facebook, as Zucko was portrayed in the 2008 film inspired by Facebook's origins. There's also the "Cambridge Analytica or 'evil Mark,'" Ek says, or the Zuck defined by the massive Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal of the late 201os, the fallout from which ultimately caused a public grappling with the ubiquitous power of tech giants and the now-billionaires — Zuck included — who led them. And finally, Ek told *Forbes*, there's Zuck's image today, which is a calmer, more "authentic" version of the founder — who, per Ek, has "learned a lot over these past few years and he has a new fire in the belly." "He's realized he needs to act responsibly," the [military AI investor]() added, "because he's got this enormous platform." ## High Marks To Ek's point, the [meat-smoking]() Facebook founder's public persona has indeed softened in recent years. The Cambridge Analytica ordeal turned much of the public sharply against Zucko, as did a separate Trump-era scandal involving an [influx of Russian bots on Facebook]() designed to influence the 2016 election (although the optics still weren't great, a [study]() from earlier this year came to the conclusion that the bots didn't really do much to sway the election's outcomes.) But amid [Facebook's dwindling relevance](), [mass Meta layoffs](), and Zucko's [legless](), [much-lampooned]() Metaverse pivot, maybe some empathy has kicked in, with Zuck's image becoming more palatable. And then, of course, there's the founder's [recent foray]() into the world of martial arts and [Being Extremely Ripped](), as well as the [related Cage Fight debacle]() in which fellow billionaire Elon Musk challenged Zuck to a mano-a-mano duel. Musk basically worked like a [one-man PR engine]() for Zuck, who came out of the ordeal looking like the [only adult in the room](). Call it the child-gazillionaire-in-a-hoodie-to-privacy-dystopia-ghoul-to-goofy-MMA-dude-who's-*not-*Elon-Musk pipeline. But all that said, it's worth remembering that Zuck is still the same billionaire who owns a massive chunk of our digital lives, and thus still wields massive power — and according to Ek, those older versions of his ol' pal Zuckerberg haven't gone away. "There's still some of the old Mark," Ek told *Forbes*, "where he is betting on things even though everyone tells him 'this is never gonna work.'" **More on House Zuckerberg:** [*Mark Zuckerberg’s Wife Unhappy He’s Building Fighting Arena in Their Backyard*]() ## 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]()