What are the odds that Mark Zuckerberg would file a lawsuit against Meta? You’d think the chances were slim to none, but it actually happened. Well, sort of. For context, it wasn’t the Meta CEO who filed the suit, but rather a bankruptcy lawyer from Indiana who happens to share the same name.
Meta recently deleted the lawyer's Facebook account for “impersonating a celebrity.” But that’s not the case; he simply shares the same name as Mark Zuckerberg. More concerningly, this isn’t the first time his Facebook profile has been flagged and taken down.
He's been in the same predicament five times over the past eight years. This has acted as a s setback for his business, since he uses the Facebook page to advertise his legal practice and even communicate with potential clients.
While speaking to Indianapolis’ 13WTHR, bankruptcy lawyer Mark Zuckerberg indicated:
“It’s not funny. Not when they take my money. This really pissed me off.”
So far, the lawyer has spent approximately $11,000 marketing his legal practice on Facebook. Despite repeated efforts to expand his client base, Facebook has blocked his ads multiple times for allegedly violating the platform's community guidelines on impersonation. Nevertheless, Mark Zuckerberg still receives payments for the ads, even though the lawyer's account has been deactivated.
Also, if you happen to run into the younger, richer Mark Zuckerberg, tell him I said hi and he causes me great aggravation each day.
Bankruptcy Lawyer, Mark S. Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg has spent over $11,000 to advertise his page on Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta platforms, but when Mark Zuckerberg’s account was disabled for allegedly impersonating Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Zuckerberg still had to pay for these advertisements. "I've had that name longer than him," the lawyer lamented.
The lawyer is suing Meta for negligence and a breach of contract. While speaking to the New York Post, he indicated:
“Normally, you would say, well, it’s just Facebook and it’s not a big deal. But this time it’s affecting my bottom line because I was paying for advertising for my business to try and get clients.”
Lawyer Zuckerberg has been in communication with Meta about his predicament since as early as 2017, when he sought assistance for his account being wrongly disabled.
The lawyer's troubles spread beyond a deactivated Facebook account
As it turns out, sharing a name with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has opened up the lawyer's world to endless trials and tribulations. The attorney revealed that he received death threats and money requests. He's even been sued by the state of Washington.
The challenges have even affected his personal life when trying to make reservations. “I can’t use my name when making reservations or conducting business as people assume I’m a prank caller and hang up,” the lawyer added. "My life sometimes feels like the Michael Jordan ESPN commercial, where a regular person’s name causes constant mixups.”
I think it’s offensive that a company that is supposed to be so tech savvy in the world can’t figure out how to flag my accounts and keep this from happening. It’s like they’re almost doing it on purpose, but I’m sure they’re not, but it feels like it. It’s the fact that they’re affecting my business now, you know, my clients can’t find me.
Bankruptcy Lawyer, Mark S. Zuckerberg
Meta has since confirmed to The Independent that lawyer Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook account has already been reinstated. "We know there’s more than one Mark Zuckerberg in the world, and we are getting to the bottom of this," Meta added.
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