Is Facebook in the process of eating its own? Is some kind of mutiny against Zuckerberg occurring, or is this just a case of mistaken identity? If you answered “yes” to the last option, you nailed it because the Mark Zuckerberg being discussed is not the same one brought to life by Jesse Eisenberg.
Apparently, if you share a name with any of Facebook’s inner circle, you run the risk of having your Facebook page deleted. Just ask Mark Zuckerberg. No, not that one, either. According to a report in the LA Times, an Indianapolis attorney who has the apparent misfortune of sharing the Zuckerberg name had his Facebook profile disabled. Was this a case of Facebook acting in a over-protective manner, disabling an account they mistook for a parody profile? Or are they insistent on making sure there’s only one Mark Zuckerberg account?
The mistaken Zuckerberg offered his take on the matter:
“I was originally denied an account with Facebook two years ago because of my name, and I had to send them copies of my driver’s license, birth certificate and Indianapolis Bar Assn. license just to get them to believe that I exist and to allow me to set up my page,” Zuckerberg told the TV station in a statement.
Zuckerberg — no, not that one — goes on to say this isn’t the first time he’s had such an issue with Facebook, although, this is apparently the first time his account has been suspended, which brings up an interesting point: If they had issue with Zuckerberg’s name in the past, why did they wait until 2011 to disable his account? Heavy workload?
To better plea his case of shared identity, the mistaken Zuckerberg created IAmMarkZuckerberg.com, which he uses to differentiate himself from the Facebook wunderkind. Here, Zuckerberg’s testimony continues:
I tell you all of this to make this point: I have put a lot of energy into becoming an exceptional bankruptcy attorney and establishing my good name nationally. If you had Googled Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, you would have found me. No one else. Mark S. Zuckerberg, bankruptcy attorney. If you had repeated the search two years later, you wouldn’t have found me at all. Now my name isn’t mine any more. The website HowManyofMe.com claims that only 1 Mark Zuckerberg exists in the entire United States. Which one do you think they’re counting?
As for the mistaken Zuckerberg and his Facebook profile, according to a quote from a Facebook spokesperson, the account has been revitalized (confirmed):
“Our reviewers look at thousands of pieces of content a day that are reported to them and of course make an occasional mistake. When this happens, and we’re notified about it, we work quickly to restore the content. We have reactivated this person’s account and sent him an email apologizing for the inconvenience.”
Apparently, Facebook doesn’t keep their reviewers up-to-date on these kinds of things, considering the mistaken Zuckerberg already discussed previous issues with Facebook concerning his name. Perhaps they should have a list of users who are “allowed” to share names with other, more prominent members.
It might help alleviate these kinds of mistakes in the future. Lead image courtesy of the mistaken Zuckerberg and his site.
Update:
WISHTV.com has a video interview with the mistaken Zuckerberg:
The following quote reveals just how many hoops the mistaken Zuckerberg had to go through just get his account:
“I was originally denied an account with Facebook two years ago because of my name, and I had to send them copies of my driver’s license, birth certificate, and Indianapolis Bar Association license just to get them to believe that I exist and to allow me to set up my page,” Zuckerberg said in a news release.
“We went through this for about 4 months,” he told 24-Hour News 8.
Um, is a Facebook account worth that much trouble?