Zuckerberg Depicted As Octopus in German Newspaper

TEMPO.CO, Munich - Mark Zuckerberg is on a hot streak. A media, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, shows a caricature of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg titled "Krake-Zuckerberg" showing anti-Semitism reminiscent of the Nazi propaganda, critics say.

The cartoon depicts Mark Zuckerberg as an octopus with a hook nose devouring the world’s technology. It appeared in the Friday edition of the Munich-based paper along with the International New York Times.

"The cartoon is starkly reminiscent of a 1938 Nazi cartoon depicting Winston Churchill as a Jewish octopus encircling the globe," said Efraim Zuroff, of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. "And if anyone has any doubts about the anti-Semitic dimension of the cartoon, we can point to Mark Zuckerberg’s very prominent nose, which is not the case in real life. Absolutely disgusting!"

Burkhard Mohr, the artist, said he was not aware that the presentation of Zuckerberg could be a problem. He has written a public apology to the people and said that he was very sorry for the misinterpretation and for all readers who were hurt by the depiction.

A Facebook spokeswoman said Zuckerberg had no comment on the matter. "We understand that the artist and the newspaper have issued a public apology about this cartoon," she said. "We have nothing to add to this."

The drawing of Zuckerberg comes on the heels of Facebook’s $19 billion purchase of the messaging startup company WhatsApp. A few people noted that Mohr does not fully realize that his actions will cause criticism and misunderstandings.

RINDU P HESTYA | FOX NEWS