German cartoonist Burkhard Mohr has apologized for drawing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a hooked-nose octopus in a cartoon related to the recent Facebook acquisition of Whatsapp. The cartoon generated controversy because it was viewed as a anti-Semitic and bore a close likeness to 1930 Nazi anti-Jew propaganda.
According to Silicon Republic, the apology said, “Anti-Semitism and racism are ideologies which are totally foreign to me. It is the last thing I would do, to defame people because of their nationality, religious view or origin.”
For a historical perspective on the use of the octopus to denote reaching or controlling by an group or individual, The Daily Mail has posted a gallery of cartoons including one from the 1930’s when the Nazi’s used it in their anti-Jewish propaganda.
Seems like a honest mistake. Why did everyone though assume it was Zuckerberg?