Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Tanuki

(16,304 posts)
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 05:46 AM Sep 2025

Zuckerberg using photos of 13-y.o. schoolgirls to lure men to Threads

This is seriously sick.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/20/parents-outraged-meta-uses-photos-schoolgirls-ads-man

"META has used back-to-school pictures of schoolgirls to advertise one of its social media platforms to a 37-year-old man, in a move parents described as “outrageous” and “upsetting”.

The man noticed that posts encouraging him to “get Threads”, Mark Zuckerberg’s rival to Elon Musk’s X, were being dropped into his Instagram feed featuring embedded posts of uniformed girls as young as 13 with their faces visible and, in most cases, their names.

The children’s images were used by Meta after their parents had posted them on Instagram to mark their return to school. The parents were unaware that Meta’s settings permitted it to do this. One mother said her account was set to private, but the posts were automatically cross-posting to Threads where they were visible. Another said she posted the picture to a public Instagram account. The posts of their children were highlighted to the stranger as “suggested threads”.
The recipient told the Guardian the posts felt “deliberately provocative and ultimately exploitative of the children and families involved”.

The father of a 13-year-old who appeared in one of the posts said it was “absolutely outrageous”. The images were all of schoolgirls in short skirts with either bare legs or stockings.
“When I found out an image of her has been exploited in what felt like a sexualised way by a massive company like that to market their product it left me feeling quite disgusted,” he said."....(more)

74 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Zuckerberg using photos of 13-y.o. schoolgirls to lure men to Threads (Original Post) Tanuki Sep 2025 OP
"'I warned Mark Zuckerberg teens weren't safe on Instagram - he ignored me' Goonch Sep 2025 #1
Chilling. No other word to describe this. /nt artemisia1 Sep 2025 #2
while I doubt Zuckerberg did this personally he is still a sick fuck LymphocyteLover Sep 2025 #3
It's totally on brand for him. ... littlemissmartypants Sep 2025 #5
IIRC, the proto-Facebook was used to rate female students for how hot they were . . . hatrack Sep 2025 #7
Exactly. TY, hatrack. ❤️ littlemissmartypants Sep 2025 #8
You are correct. llmart Sep 2025 #14
The Social Network is the name of the film, and it's a well-crafted film at that. Xavier Breath Sep 2025 #22
Thanks! llmart Sep 2025 #30
Yea - I think it was called "Hot or Not". A bunch of nerdy Geeks who barely knew how to Marie Marie Sep 2025 #71
I think he's a sociopath fujiyamasan Sep 2025 #53
💯 littlemissmartypants Sep 2025 #67
Invented to rate hot college women... SergeStorms Sep 2025 #65
May he be the next in line to have a fascist day of remembrance RVN VET71 Sep 2025 #12
No, you're thinking of McKenzie (Bezos) Scott. Tanuki Sep 2025 #19
Holy sheeeit! Thank you, thank you, thank you. RVN VET71 Sep 2025 #24
It was an algorithm that put them in an ad. LeftInTX Sep 2025 #26
FB Terms of Service says they can do this with all uploaded content. intheflow Sep 2025 #43
Looks like FB's legal team might have a problem... erronis Sep 2025 #46
Disgusting Cirsium Sep 2025 #58
Remember Facebook started as "hot or not" Javaman Sep 2025 #27
Just another republican pedophile. BComplex Sep 2025 #40
He did it by personally creating a corporate culture that allows it. tinrobot Sep 2025 #72
The Greed Chasstev365 Sep 2025 #4
Well, who raised them? (n/t) OldBaldy1701E Sep 2025 #10
My kids, at least, were raised in the best environment I could provide RazorbackExpat Sep 2025 #13
This message was self-deleted by its author Heidi Sep 2025 #41
Zuck has now proven he will use paedo bait for profit. Sick fuck. Celerity Sep 2025 #6
Ummm, we do realize that Fuckerbergs model for Facebook maxrandb Sep 2025 #9
And still, people use Facebook. Crazy. Scrivener7 Sep 2025 #11
I know people who think"online" means "Facebook." Pinback Sep 2025 #21
Creeps is as creeps does. Just Jerome Sep 2025 #15
Zuckerberg is Musk lonely bird Sep 2025 #16
And neither was Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs, or Larry Ellison, etc. erronis Sep 2025 #47
True lonely bird Sep 2025 #54
Most disclaimers state things like this, however.... 3825-87867 Sep 2025 #17
Sorta...but in a billionaire's ad? LeftInTX Sep 2025 #28
You Can't Sign Away Your Rights OhioTim Sep 2025 #18
I knew suckerberg was weird rpannier Sep 2025 #20
Considering he hangs with Trump and Ellison... Initech Sep 2025 #64
"It made me feel quite disgusted" is not a reaction any men in my family would have Iris Sep 2025 #23
Their real reaction may not have been fit to print. Wednesdays Sep 2025 #42
I hope so. Iris Sep 2025 #44
Zuck the Fuck wolfie001 Sep 2025 #25
There's going to come a time, I hope soon, when we as a people crush the tech bros. paleotn Sep 2025 #29
How republicon is that? BoRaGard Sep 2025 #31
I'm a geezer, other than DU have never used social media. Not sure why it's NoMoreRepugs Sep 2025 #32
Dopamine is a hell of a drug Pinback Sep 2025 #38
Much wrong with... Mike Nelson Sep 2025 #33
Sickening. iluvtennis Sep 2025 #34
Rich white men can do what they want. Rapist in the WH will protect them. Irish_Dem Sep 2025 #35
Zuck could use the sexualized pics of Trump with his underage daughter Ivanka. Norrrm Sep 2025 #36
Asked what he & Ivanka had in common he said SEX. With his daughter. His words. Maru Kitteh Sep 2025 #56
That's how I feel about Mark Zuckerberg.. disgusted milestogo Sep 2025 #37
I'm not surprised he's doing that, but if men take the bait, Heidi Sep 2025 #39
There are so many other platforms....why does anyone still use fb? PortTack Sep 2025 #45
These social media billionaire rats all live in the same sewer. They all cross pollinate. flashman13 Sep 2025 #48
I couldn't agree more. Buddyzbuddy Sep 2025 #50
Disgusting. But fits with some other things Meta has done that I've posted about on DU. highplainsdem Sep 2025 #49
Old mark is probably just Faux pas Sep 2025 #51
This message was self-deleted by its author Faux pas Sep 2025 #52
He's maybe just posting the 13 year old girls AdamGG Sep 2025 #55
look at this statistic NJCher Sep 2025 #57
That's just totally gross. and disturbing. 58Sunliner Sep 2025 #60
Zuckerberg is a pedo like his good friend, Cankles. red dog 1 Sep 2025 #59
The G O P ( Guardian's Of Pedophiles) MW67 Sep 2025 #61
gotta love the idiots who think their "privacy" settings mean jackshit Skittles Sep 2025 #62
This is fucking disgusting. Like truly disgusting. Initech Sep 2025 #63
The pedophile posse malaise Sep 2025 #66
Grooming and Pimping dlk Sep 2025 #68
There are a bunch of issues here Renew Deal Sep 2025 #69
Zucko will just blame it on a faulty algorithm, or a 'hallucinating' AI. LudwigPastorius Sep 2025 #70
Good for this guy pattyloutwo Sep 2025 #73
Best to not post pictures of your kids then? Aussie105 Sep 2025 #74

Goonch

(4,254 posts)
1. "'I warned Mark Zuckerberg teens weren't safe on Instagram - he ignored me'
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 06:25 AM
Sep 2025

"Former executive Arturo Béjar says his warnings were ignored by Zuckerberg

In his testimony to US Senators, Arturo Béjar said his teenage daughter and her friends had for years received unwanted sexual advances on Instagram Credit: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP
Matthew Field
19 November 2023 12:00pm GMT
Matthew Field

Instagram-owner Meta is “fundamentally misleading” the public about the safety of its picture-sharing app for teens, a former executive-turned-whistleblower has said..."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/11/19/instagram-not-safe-for-teens-claims-meta-whistleblower/

LymphocyteLover

(9,385 posts)
3. while I doubt Zuckerberg did this personally he is still a sick fuck
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 06:49 AM
Sep 2025

he has way too much power over so many people with his platforms

littlemissmartypants

(31,684 posts)
5. It's totally on brand for him. ...
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 06:58 AM
Sep 2025

Exploitation was the entire business model for Facebook from the start, going back to his college days. Nothing has changed.

hatrack

(64,273 posts)
7. IIRC, the proto-Facebook was used to rate female students for how hot they were . . .
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 07:06 AM
Sep 2025

So yeah, sounds about right.

llmart

(17,329 posts)
14. You are correct.
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 07:40 AM
Sep 2025

I remember that too. There was a movie about how he got his start. Can't remember the name of it, but I watched it when it first came out and was appalled about what and who he was. If I remember correctly, he was an original "incel" when in college.

Marie Marie

(10,899 posts)
71. Yea - I think it was called "Hot or Not". A bunch of nerdy Geeks who barely knew how to
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 10:32 PM
Sep 2025

approach or engage with real women sitting there staring at and judging pics of their classmates. He is still an asshole only bigger and different. Oh and,
filthy rich. What a world!

fujiyamasan

(1,234 posts)
53. I think he's a sociopath
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 02:31 PM
Sep 2025

And he knows how bad the algos on his platforms are. That’s why he always blocks out his kids faces with smiley emojis when he posts anything. That’s fine and common sense, but this comes from a guy that claims no one has any privacy.

RVN VET71

(3,129 posts)
12. May he be the next in line to have a fascist day of remembrance
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 07:31 AM
Sep 2025

Get it? Just like the late Charlie Kirk (aka Carlos Iglesias, the Jackal), shot in the neck at a remarkable range -- 250 yards was it? Just opining on a lazy Saturday morning.

Just thinking how many worthless shit-stain NFL owners would honor that call for Zuckie as they did for Chucky.? Probably none because Zuckeroo lacks the "Jesus is White and Loves the Rich" component.

But isn't Zuck's ex wife a fairly decent philanthropical human being? Apparently, unlike her curly haired ex she actually has this empathic compassion thing going and is using the large slice of Facebook pie she got in the divorce settlement to perform good works.

RVN VET71

(3,129 posts)
24. Holy sheeeit! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 08:12 AM
Sep 2025

Bezos' ex seems like a personable and caring person. I truly want to remember her for the good she does and for possessing all of the human qualities he former husband has lost.

Thank you, one more time, for dispelling my ignorance.

LeftInTX

(34,015 posts)
26. It was an algorithm that put them in an ad.
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 08:14 AM
Sep 2025

Teens can be in ads if their parents give consent, but in this case Meta did it without their consent.

It's cheap and cheating and Zuckerberg got free ads out of parents' posts.

They have every right to sue.

If Zuckerberg wants ads, he needs to pay for them.

intheflow

(30,015 posts)
43. FB Terms of Service says they can do this with all uploaded content.
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 11:12 AM
Sep 2025
3.3 The permissions you give us

We need certain permissions from you to provide our services:

1. Your content: Some content that you share or upload, such as photos or videos, may be protected by intellectual property laws.

You retain ownership of the intellectual property rights (things like copyright or trademarks) in any such content that you create and share on Facebook and other you use. Nothing in these Terms takes away the rights you have to your own content. You are free to share your content with anyone else, wherever you want.

However, to provide our services we need you to give us some legal permissions (known as a "license&quot to use this content. This is solely for the purposes of providing and improving our Products and services as described in Section 1 above.

2. Permission to use content you create and share: Specifically, when you share, post, or upload content that is covered by intellectual property rights on or in connection with our Products, you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, and worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content (consistent with your and settings). This means, for example, that if you share a photo on Facebook, you give us permission to store, copy, and share it with others (again, consistent with your settings) such as Meta Products or service providers that support those products and services. This license will end when your content is deleted from our systems.

https://www.facebook.com/terms?section_id=section_3


Sorry, Parents. You agreed to this when you signed up to use the platform.

erronis

(22,692 posts)
46. Looks like FB's legal team might have a problem...
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 01:25 PM
Sep 2025

If this excerpt you quoted from the FB terms URL, there is a small clause:

(consistent with your and settings)

Which doesn't make sense and could void their rights to steal and re-use content.

I won't go on one of their many sites so I can't check this out.

Cirsium

(3,384 posts)
58. Disgusting
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 04:20 PM
Sep 2025

"We need certain permissions from you to provide our services."

How did so many people fall for this?

Javaman

(65,133 posts)
27. Remember Facebook started as "hot or not"
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 08:18 AM
Sep 2025

He’s been a creep his whole life

My very distinct fear is these mentally 13 year old creeps are trying like hell to normalize rape and pedophilia

And to paraphrase Carl Sandburg, “ the evil arrives quietly, gracefully, and stealthily, much like a cat moves”

BComplex

(9,751 posts)
40. Just another republican pedophile.
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 09:57 AM
Sep 2025

Every. Single. One. of those pedophiles are voting republican russian party. The sick-stick-together party.

tinrobot

(11,955 posts)
72. He did it by personally creating a corporate culture that allows it.
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 10:35 PM
Sep 2025

He's the CEO, ultimate responsibility lies with him.

Chasstev365

(7,144 posts)
4. The Greed
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 06:52 AM
Sep 2025

The guy has billions, but let's make more off this shit.
Why do so many Zuckerberg's generation have no morals whatsoever?

RazorbackExpat

(894 posts)
13. My kids, at least, were raised in the best environment I could provide
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 07:40 AM
Sep 2025

in Japan, where 道徳 (ethics) is part of the school curriculum.

Response to RazorbackExpat (Reply #13)

maxrandb

(17,173 posts)
9. Ummm, we do realize that Fuckerbergs model for Facebook
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 07:09 AM
Sep 2025

was a website he used to rate the "fuckability" of women at his college.

That he's a sick, perverted, misogynistic prick, is about as surprising as Donnie Dipshit grabbing women by the "hoo-haa".

I am shocked! Shocked I tell you.

Pinback

(13,505 posts)
21. I know people who think"online" means "Facebook."
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 08:07 AM
Sep 2025

They conduct their social and family interactions largely through the Zuckerverse — FB, Instagram, and Threads. There are also plenty of venues and organizations that have no web presence other than those platforms, so it’s hard to access their info unless you get it by word of mouth or a random ad or flyer.

But I digress. Facebook and the other Zuckerberg platforms have such fervently dependent users (and such an ocean of cash) that they’re unlikely to face serious consequences from even such egregious behavior as that cited in the OP.

But it’s not a monopoly. And regulatory oversight would be “burdensome.”

lonely bird

(2,778 posts)
16. Zuckerberg is Musk
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 07:50 AM
Sep 2025

Neither were great coders.

They were sales/marketing guys, period.

Neither is, imo, a genius. Both are pieces of crap.

erronis

(22,692 posts)
47. And neither was Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs, or Larry Ellison, etc.
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 02:02 PM
Sep 2025

Being a great coder is not the path to riches and power.

(Says I, 60 years of coding since BAL - sometimes pretty good. But did it because I enjoyed the art and the science of it.)

lonely bird

(2,778 posts)
54. True
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 02:36 PM
Sep 2025

They were marketers. Gates and Jobs made opposing decisions and were lucky to have good people in place.

Gates after the success has shown himself to be the excellent example of having money does not make you an expert particularly in areas outside of where you made your money.

3825-87867

(1,806 posts)
17. Most disclaimers state things like this, however....
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 07:51 AM
Sep 2025

virtually NO ONE reads them (too long; too much legalese! can't be bothered to take the time - plus - I don't really understand and the gov will make sure things are ok, right?)

Better check birth certificates... may give business or the feds the right to do anything they want with people...oh, wait..

LeftInTX

(34,015 posts)
28. Sorta...but in a billionaire's ad?
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 08:23 AM
Sep 2025

I remember signing disclaimers that my pic or kids pics could be used in promotional materials or possibly media. However, it was generally associated with non-profits and school etc. Schools do occasionally have pictures of students, the media comes to schools and often there are pics of the kids in the background. Student athletes are often featured in the media. Parents all sign disclaimers.

But it isn't quite the same as using the student the student in a billionaire's ad. Zuckerberg can afford to pay for ads.

Iris

(16,847 posts)
23. "It made me feel quite disgusted" is not a reaction any men in my family would have
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 08:12 AM
Sep 2025

Or the aunties either.

paleotn

(21,607 posts)
29. There's going to come a time, I hope soon, when we as a people crush the tech bros.
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 08:26 AM
Sep 2025

Just like the 19th century trusts got crushed. Wasn't easy, but there is precedent and hope.

NoMoreRepugs

(11,808 posts)
32. I'm a geezer, other than DU have never used social media. Not sure why it's
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 08:40 AM
Sep 2025

important to post pics of your young children going back to school or frankly doing anything on social media when you should be well aware of its ugly side.

Pinback

(13,505 posts)
38. Dopamine is a hell of a drug
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 09:38 AM
Sep 2025

— ok, hormone. Many people have become conditioned to “needing” the hit they get from online acceptance and approval. Makes no sense to me.

Mike Nelson

(10,920 posts)
33. Much wrong with...
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 08:41 AM
Sep 2025

... this story. Maybe there are other photos, other than the one pictured... I assume robots picked the lure photos, based on clicks... If so, they need better robots! And the headline is misleading, as many are... so I fixed it:

"Zuckerberg algorithms use photos of 13-y.o. schoolgirls to lure pedophiles to Threads"

Norrrm

(4,034 posts)
36. Zuck could use the sexualized pics of Trump with his underage daughter Ivanka.
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 09:21 AM
Sep 2025

Later, he referred to her as a 'piece of ass'?

Heidi

(58,846 posts)
39. I'm not surprised he's doing that, but if men take the bait,
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 09:46 AM
Sep 2025

they‘re creeps—not victims, not entrapped. I‘m sick to effin‘ death of hearing lame excuses from and apologies on behalf of grown-ass men allegedly lured by children (FYI, that’s anyone under the legal age of consent). They’ll play hell *ever* convincing me that men in general are bumbling idiots and so easily led around by their penises and power dynamics. I’ve known too many decent, non-predatory men in my life to *ever* buy that bullsh!t.

flashman13

(2,046 posts)
48. These social media billionaire rats all live in the same sewer. They all cross pollinate.
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 02:06 PM
Sep 2025

Dump all of your social media. You don't need it. I have lived without them my entire life with no ill effects. Especially block it from your children's phones. They are a curse on humanity.

Faux pas

(16,174 posts)
51. Old mark is probably just
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 02:31 PM
Sep 2025

a newer member the billionaire pedophiles club. DISGUSTIPATING!!! That better not be covered under "free effing speech"!!!!

Response to Tanuki (Original post)

AdamGG

(1,862 posts)
55. He's maybe just posting the 13 year old girls
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 02:42 PM
Sep 2025

to gain hits from the President of the United States.

NJCher

(42,522 posts)
57. look at this statistic
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 03:13 PM
Sep 2025

(from the article)

the post of her child attracted nearly 7,000 views, 90% from non-followers, half of whom were aged over 44 and 90% of whom were men.

I shuddered when I read that.

Skittles

(169,644 posts)
62. gotta love the idiots who think their "privacy" settings mean jackshit
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 06:20 PM
Sep 2025

very glad I was never sucked into the FB Borg, it is disgusting

Renew Deal

(84,709 posts)
69. There are a bunch of issues here
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 09:32 PM
Sep 2025

Facebook goes out of it's way to overcome users privacy choices. People choose a more private setting and then Facebook creates a slightly different setting, calls it something else, and turns it on.

It is outrageous that Facebook would use anyone's images for promotional purposes, but especially minors.

The parents deserve some blame too. If the pictures are too provocative for some people to see them, they are too provocative for any people to see them. Anything posted on the internet should be considered public regardless of settings, because you can't control the audience or individual people, including the ones you trust.

LudwigPastorius

(14,205 posts)
70. Zucko will just blame it on a faulty algorithm, or a 'hallucinating' AI.
Sat Sep 20, 2025, 09:56 PM
Sep 2025

...but, he's just getting back to his roots...using kids this time.

"Facemash" was a website designed to evaluate the attractiveness of female Harvard students. The students were unaware their images were being used for this rating. The site used ID photos of female undergraduates taken without permission from the university's online directories.


https://www.businessinsider.com/how-facebook-was-founded-2010-3

Aussie105

(7,654 posts)
74. Best to not post pictures of your kids then?
Sun Sep 21, 2025, 03:18 AM
Sep 2025

No matter how harmless your intent, there are people who trawl the internet looking for pictures to support whatever agenda they are pushing.

Pictures on dating sites that say 'Meet Russian women!' for example . . . you can use reverse lookup on the pictures to see their origin.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Zuckerberg using photos o...