Mark Zuckerberg has faced quite a bit of criticism recently, almost as much as Elon Musk.
The Meta Platforms (META) CEO has successfully alienated many Facebook and Instagram users over the past few months. His decision to end the fact-checking on the platforms and replace it with a system similar to X’s Community Notes has proven largely unpopular, as has his support of President Donald Trump.
These aren’t the only things that Zuckerberg has been criticized for, though. In 2024, he switched up his signature style, moving from gray t-shirts and blank hoodies to gold chains and trendy-looking streetwear while also ditching his classic hairstyle.
Even so, one of Zuckerberg’s biggest rivals recently used fashion to make a statement about him, levying a sly insult in a highly public way. Since then, both the social media and fashion industries have been buzzing.
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms debuted a shirt in September 2024 that one of his rivals is now using against him. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A tech rival uses Zuckerberg’s own words against him
The social media landscape has shifted recently, in part due to the emergence of a key new platform. Bluesky mirrors the same user experience as Twitter (now X) but operates in stark contrast, focusing on decentralization and user control.
CEO Jay Graber recently spoke at South by Southwest (SXSW), a yearly festival that celebrates areas such as music, film and technology, among other things. She delivered insightful remarks to a cheering crowd, but for many, her fashion choices stood out.
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Graber took the stage wearing a somewhat baggy black t-shirt with faded lettering. At first glance, that may seem par for the course for her industry, as unassuming t-shirts are typically the uniform of tech CEOs.
However, the shirt’s lettering spelled out a key Latin phrase that scholars of classic literature will know. “Mundus sine caesaribus” roughly translates to “a world without Caesars. This is a clear nod to a shirt Zuckerberg wore in September 2024 at the Meta Connect event, which bore the phrase “Aut Zuck aut nihil,” translating to “Either Zuck or nothing.”
Zuckerberg’s shirt is a play on the classical Latin phrase “Aut Caesar aut nihi” that translates to “Either Caesar or nothing,” referencing Julius Caesar. While the Roman emperor is thought not to have been the first to use it, the phrase is commonly associated with him.
The decision to put himself on the same metaphoric pedestal makes sense to those who know that Zuckerberg has long been fascinated not with Julius Caesar but with fellow Roman emperor Caesar Augustus. His former hairstyle is thought to have been inspired by that of the statesman whom Zuckerberg has made clear he idolizes.
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Experts such as Frederik Juliaan Vervaet, Associate Professor of Ancient History, at The University of Melbourne, have described Zuckerberg’s admiration for Caesar as misguided, bemoaning “the often bloody and cynical methods he used to establish an autocracy that would endure for centuries.”
Graber’s shirt choice suggests that she feels the same way, but more than that, it suggests that she believes that her industry would be better off without people like Zuckerberg.
Imagine a world without Zuckerbergs
It’s true that Graber didn’t call out Zuckerberg by name when she put on the shirt. However, the fact that it closely mirrored the shift he wore indicates that she meant it as a direct reference to him and sees him as the Caesar figure she wants to live without.
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Graber provided further context on this during her SXSW address, stating, “There’s already applications in the network that give you another way to view the network, or you could build a new one as well. And so that openness guarantees that there’s always the ability to move to a new alternative.”
This is a stark contrast to Meta, whose users have fled the platform as its leaders have repeatedly compromised their trust. TechCrunch reports that “after Meta pushed controversial updates like training its AI on public user posts and culling its third-party fact-checking programs, Bluesky experienced bursts of user growth.”
While Meta’s future remains uncertain, it is clear that users want a different experience than Meta has been providing. If given the choice between that and “Zuck,” the number of people who would choose “nothing” may grow.
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