Mark Zuckerberg's Innocent 4th of July Celebratory Post Became Hilarious Meme Fodder

Even among the ultra-wealthy of the world, Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most elite. As founder of Meta, he's both rich, powerful, and trying to stay at the forefront of the tech and communications industry as it rockets forward at lightning speed.

But Zuckerberg being rich and powerful doesn't save him from being the subject of memes. In fact, it probably guarantees that he will be the subject of memes. We're speaking, of course, of one ill-fated 4th of July post which turned into an infamous meme that still makes the rounds years later.

It all started on July 4, 2021, with Zuck hopping on a hydrofoil or "foil" board, with an American flag, to be filmed gliding through the water with the flag held triumphantly in the air. As one does, of course. He set the mood with "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver.

Although some have called the video likely an AI-generated video, the heart of it remains the same: Zuck wanted to showcase himself cavorting in the water and celebrating his American heritage, like many people do on Independence Day.

Instantly, people found the hilarious side of the video. After all, who films themselves holding a flag while riding a hydrofoil? In the comments of his original video, many people pointed out that this video is "#justrichpeoplethings."

And the memes immediately started flowing.

One user uploaded the video, captioning it, "I wish they could bring John Denver back to life just so he could sue Mark Zuckerberg for this." Another X (formerly Twitter) account shared the post, adding, "I've never felt sorry for a song before but this one has been through so much."

Another user decided to save John Denver's legacy from the post altogether, instead putting the video to Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries."

One user playfully put a stylized image of Zuck to the Jaws movie poster, with commenters responding, "Where's Jaws when you need him?"

Of course, the 4th of July post isn't the first time Mark Zuckerberg has been turned into a meme.

When you're one of the most powerful men in the world, holding social media in an iron grip with several powerful platforms, it's natural for people to be a little critical.

And Zuckerberg has never done himself any favors with questionable fashion and hairstyles that have always drawn criticism.

Images of him testifying before Congress about the role that social media has in regulating age restrictions and other concerns led rise to a number of memes about Zuckerberg's oddly stony countenance and haircut.

But in 2025, he was once again the subject of a series of memes after announcing plans to advance Meta's AI programs.

As it turns out, Zuckerberg managed to gather the best of the best, poaching many of them from competitors.

One X user joked that Zuckerberg went from "Mr Steal Your Data to Mr Steal Your Girl to Mr Steal Your AI Researcher" in just three years.

Another highlighted all the AI experts that Zuckerberg poached, joking that the social media mogul was "in his villain arc."

Of course, it's hard to imagine that Zuckerberg cares about the mockery and memeing. With as much money and influence as he has, yapping from the average person probably doesn't even penetrate his privileged bubble.

Which means that it's probably fairly safe to keep memeing, although the mockery of Zuckerberg's looks go a little too far at times. The rest? His politics, privilege, and villain arc? Fair game.