Zuckerberg's image is in trouble - but Meta's business is booming

Mark Zuckerberg has an image problem, but why is Meta's business booming? Just three minutes into his keynote speech at the company's annual Meta Connect product event last month, his tone turned almost wistful.

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"Building is an act of love," he said, glancing down at the ground with his hands in his pockets. "It's how we impart what we believe, and we pour our hearts and our souls into what we make."

Speaking to hundreds of analysts and developers, Zuckerberg shared news about Meta's latest AI products: its new agentic chatbot Muse, a slew of smart glasses, and a Tamagotchi-like AI gadget users can attach to their wrists. Notably, during a presentation lasting nearly an hour, Zuckerberg did not mention two of his most popular products, Instagram and Facebook, which have helped Meta become a $2 trillion company.

For much of the past year, Meta has faced a series of legal actions, accused of deliberately designing products that are addictive to young users. This has led to the release of internal emails, corporate documents, and whistleblower testimony that personal injury lawyers and prosecutors across the country have used to bolster their cases.

A Pew Research Center poll from last year found that two-thirds of Americans had an unfavorable opinion of Zuckerberg. This year, Meta unveiled Muse, its AI companion app, alongside a wearable device that allows users to interact with it.

Zuckerberg's reputation is unlikely to improve with the release of The Social Reckoning, a film by Aaron Sorkin that explores whistleblower claims that Meta executives were aware of the harm their products caused to young people. Jeremy Strong, who plays Zuckerberg in the film, is described as a "full-on villain" in a review by the Hollywood Reporter.