ark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, recently polluted social media feeds with a photo of himself on a run through Tiananmen Square as part of a fitness challenge “A Year of Running.” The Harvard dropout was in Beijing for an economic forum, as well as to continue his so-far-futile attempts to convince China’s top brass that letting Facebook past the Great Firewall is a good idea. However, despite his obvious brown-nosing over the years attempting to ingratiate himself with the country, some were quick to point out a very important fact his research appears to have missed. China has a bit of a smog Otherpress % Eric Wilkins Editor-in-Chief M editor@theotherpress.ca Lauren Kelly Assistant Editor f fi. Mercedes Deutscher News Editor Adam Tatelman Arts Editor iam © arts@theotherpress.ca Angela Ho Business Manager Jacey Gibb Distribution Manager Cara Seccafien Layout Manager Joel McCarthy Graphics Manager Elizabeth Jacob Production Assistant Massistant@theotherpress.ca Mi news@theotherpress.ca problem, and Beijing on the day of Zuckerberg’s run was in particularly fine form: the city’s air pollution index was over 10 times the safe level determined by the World Health Organization. Many aren't even outside at such times, let alone going for a jog. To boot, Zuckerberg and his energetic entourage were completely unprotected, forgoing the commonly found air-filtering masks—a decision his lungs likely rued instantly. Needless to say, Zuckerberg is well-aware of the air-quality issues China faces. His run was likely partly, if not completely, staged. What better way to try and cozy-up with propaganda leaders a B. £. ey Ed Appleby Ilustrator Jony Roy Social Media Coordinator Aaron Guillen Staff Reporter Staff Writers Rebecca Peterson Cazzy Lewchuk Jamal Al-Bayaa than to attempt to show Beijing in a “refreshing” light? And it’s partially for this posing that the man is being heavily criticized— painting a false image. However, as usual, the world has raised one hand in protest while the other does precisely that which the first is opposed to. Is there a very real health concern in China? Of course. But if Zuckerberg is trying to schmooze his way in, does posting a running photo that features mask-clad runners help his agenda? The Facebook CEO has proven why he’s the head honcho at the social media giant: he’s Davie Wong Sports Editor Msports@theotherpress.ca Chitwan Khosla Features Editor M features@theotherpress.ca Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor Mlifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca Elliot Chan Opinions Editor M opinions@theotherpress.ca Chandler Walter Humour Editor Mhumour@theotherpress.ca Senior Columnists Lauren Paulsen David Manky Contributors Sabrina Hansen Mike LeMieux Shea O’Grady perfectly embodied the culture of social media. We project the images we want the world to see. We heavily curate our body of images to sculpt online presences. If there’s a photo we don’t want on our profile we can remove it from our timeline. If were tagged in an embarrassing photo, or one that simply doesn’t fit with the feeling were trying to create, we can untag ourselves and move on. How many Instagramers do you know who spend the longest time lining up the perfect shot, taking it multiple times, and then posting it as if it were a casual nothing? Social media is a great deal like the fellow who spends hours on just-got-out-of-bed hair: Rm 1020 — 700 Royal Ave. Douglas College New Westminster, BC V3L 5B2 604.525.3542 wanting to display an effortless (while being anything but) cool. So Zuckerberg has gone and done just that. He’s made a run in smog look like a breeze. The photo may be a misleading lie in almost every sense, but is it right to call him on something anyone with even the slightest interest in the story likely does themselves? Danke danke, Onic Yilhi Editor-in-Chief @ theotherpress.ca M editor@theotherpress.ca ¥ ©/theotherpress f/DouglasOtherPress The Other Press has been Douglas College’s student newspaper since 1976. Since 1978 we have been an autonomous publication, independent of the student union. We are a registered society under the Society Act of British Columbia, governed by an eight-person board of directors appointed by our staff. Our head office is located in the New Westminster campus. The Other Press is published weekly during the fall and winter semesters, and monthly during the summer. We receive our funding from a student levy collected through tutition fees every semester at registration, and from local and national advertising revenue. The Other Press is a member of the Canadian University Press (CUP), a syndicate of student newspapers that includes papers from all across Canada. The Other Press reserves the right to choose what we will publish, and we will not publish material that is hateful, obscene, or condones or promotes illegal activities. Submissions may be edited for clarity and brevity if necessary. All images used are copyright to their respective owners.