Mark Zuckerberg Georgetown Speech Analysis Essay Example

In his speech at the Georgetown university, Mark Zuckerberg’s main argument is the importance of voice and freedom of expression, to him as a person and to his company, Facebook. Zuckerberg claims that Facebook was created originally as a platform to allow freedom of expression, which contradicts with the story that is commonly known, worldwide, which is that Facebook started as a dating website, Facesmash, and it is certainly unclear how much of advocacy for freedom of speech and expression a dating website would represent. 

Following several “scandals” which hit Facebook, it seems that Zuckerberg was attempting an ‘image cleanse’, by giving this speech, providing the public with what he thought they wanted to hear, specifically when he claims that his focus was on building platforms which provided voice and inclusion, gave the people a voice and brought them together. 

In his speech, Zuckerberg emphasizes that his company wishes to allow more freedom of expression, however is put under pressure as well as scrutiny when it comes to certain elements present on the platform without restrictions, such as the false political ads. Interestingly, this argument could be referred to as one form of voice crisis in which the freedom of expression and the voice of people is controlled and swayed by the political interest of others, prohibiting people from having their own narrative, but rather bringing them towards a premediated narrative decided for the good of politicians and other parties. (Couldry, 2010)

On the one hand, Zuckerberg is working towards painting Facebook as the center of Freedom of expression, when it comes to social media, as he argues that him and the platform believe that: “More people being able to share their perspectives has always been necessary to build a more inclusive society” (Romm, 2019) Through said speech, and using such expressions, he is offering his perception of Facebook’s role in the global society in general, as well as the American society specifically, building up a defense against the voice of individuals and groups, who had caught Facebook red handed in one scandal after the other, in relation to their strategic control over what is posted, what is pushed to trending, and what is left not taken down. (Coker, C. 2021) 

On the other hand, the Facebook CEO is unable to hide his neoliberal attitude when he suggests that the power which Facebook grants to an individual’s voice outweighs and solves the platform’s severe misconduct of freedom of expression, specifically, when it comes to it playing a role in diminishing  differences between individuals voice, going against resistance of the narrative given by those in power, and allowing a personal, self-perceived narrative, which is the true form of freedom of expression. (Gearhart, 2014) 

Furthermore, the speech is presenting a view of an individual being responsible for their own capital with “no guarantee of security, protection or even survival” which could serve as a restriction on the individual’s voice value, as it places a price on what is going viral, which ideas are reaching a wider audience, and what opinion is seen as more appealing to a certain community. (Coker, C. 2021)

Consequently, according to Zuckerberg, Facebook became a place of where an individual’s voice exists, only within said space, provided generously by the CEO, suggesting that it may have no place outside of this platform, giving the website a larger role than it serves in reality, and creating a direct link between an individual’s voice and its spread on the platform which eventually leads to a situation in which: “those who suffer as a consequence of Facebook are understood as disposable subjects who failed to grasp the power of their voice” (Coker, C. 2021)

In conclusion, Mark Zuckerberg’s speech is an abundance of self-proclaimed victories and titles, given by him to his company, all the while attempting to paint the problematic platform as the optimal place for voice and self-expression all the while ignoring the plenty of issues and scandals which the social media platform in tangled up with for years, and pushing a neoliberal narrative, diminishing the voice of the individual, its power, and even its existence outside of the “space” given by Facebook.