The Art of Public Apology

Guest: Ashraf Rushdy, PhD, Professor of English, African American Studies, and Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Wesleyan University “I’m sorry.” Those words can be powerful. But not always. Take this recent apology by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on CNN about the misuse of Facebook data by political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica: “This was a major breach of trust and I’m really sorry this happened.” What does that really mean? Is he sorry for the damage the breach may have done to Facebook users or American democracy? Is he mostly just sorry that he and his company have to deal with this?