Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg slammed as ‘heartless billionaire’ after Puerto Rico VR live-stream
Zuckerberg used the video to talk about Facebook’s donation to relief efforts and the way it is helping the Red Cross
By Arjun Kharpal
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg was called a “heartless billionaire” and accused of “exploiting disaster” by online users after live-streaming a virtual reality (VR) cartoon avatar of himself in hurricane-hit Puerto Rico.
Last month, Puerto Rico was badly hit by Hurricane Maria. Electricity is not up and running yet and millions of citizens are struggling without basic necessities .
Zuckerberg demonstrated Facebook Spaces, a product that allows users to create a 3-D virtual avatar of themselves to use with an Oculus Rift VR headset. It allows people to communicate with each other by having their avatars be in the same space, even if the real people talking are not.
The Facebook boss was virtually transported to Puerto Rico with Rachel Franklin, the head of social VR at the company.
In the video on his Facebook page, Zuckerberg said: “One of the things that’s really magical about virtual reality, is you can get the feeling that you’re really in a place.”
Franklin followed up and said: “Crazy to feel like you’re in the middle of it.”