If you’ve seen that obnoxious Facebook ‘apology’ ad and managed to keep your last meal down, then your stomach is truly made of stern stuff. The sappy TV spot effectively promises to Make Facebook Great Again by bringing back the good old days, when it was just you and your friends sharing memories and being there for each other. You know before fake news, data harvesting and spam made the whole experience utterly intolerable and downright dangerous.
Thankfully, John Oliver of HBO’s Last Week Tonight Fame, is here to set the record straight with a version of the ad showing Facebook in a slightly different light, or a “surveillance system disguised as a high school reunion,” as the British comedian puts it.
You can see the ad, which is jam-packed full of NSFW language below.
If you’re currently short of headphones, Oliver dismisses Facebook’s half apology (which features a distinct lack of an acknowledgement of responsibility) in some colourful language.
As the social network’s commercial ends with: “When Facebook does what it was built for we all get a little closer,” Oliver responds: “Facebook was doing exactly what it was built for. That’s why it was worth $600 billion dollars. You didn’t build history’s most profitable data harvesting machine by accident.”
Related: How to delete your Facebook account permanently
Read also: 18 Facebook privacy settings you should change immediately
The segment also draws attention to Mark Zuckerberg’s recent use of the tragic hurricanes in Puerto Rico to promise Facebook’s VR service, high-five giving, grinning virtual avatar n’ all.
Facebook, of course, is attempting to bounce back from yet another crisis. Following the damaging Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal and continued fears over the spread of Fake News, it appears the company’s missteps are resonating with users.
The company lost a stunning $120 billion in one day last week, as shares dropped 19% on news of slower than expected growth. The company’s share price has bounced back quickly before, so it’s unclear whether this will have a lasting effect on Zuckerberg’s company.
Are you trying to wean yourself off of Facebook? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
