WhatsApp Rejects Ads, Facebook Embraces Them

Text on the meme

“We wanted to make something that wasn’t just another ad clearinghouse.” — WhatsApp “Advertising supported businesses like Facebook equalize access and improve opportunity.” — Facebook

What it means

A split-panel meme contrasts WhatsApp’s founders saying they did not want to create another advertising platform with Facebook executives praising advertising as a force for opportunity. The joke highlights the ironic clash between WhatsApp’s original anti-ad philosophy and Facebook’s ad-driven business model, often used to mock corporate acquisitions and changing principles.

Who

Jan Koum (Ян Кум)Brian Acton (Брайан Эктон)Sheryl Sandberg (Шерил Сэндберг)Mark Zuckerberg (Марк Цукерберг)

Objects

two men speaking / два говорящих мужчины two women and men speaking / две женщины и мужчины, говорящие green shirt / зелёная рубашка black shirt / чёрная рубашка blue sweater / синий свитер beige background / бежевый фон dark background / тёмный фон quotation marks / кавычки split-screen layout / разделённый экран lapel microphones / петличные микрофоны gesturing hands / жестикулирующие руки