WIRED Roundup: Fandom in Politics, Zuckerberg’s Illegal School, and Nepal’s Discord Revolution

Léa Feiger: Zoë, I am obsessed with this story. Before we continue, I think it’s really important to say that Caroline, the lovely reporter in this story on your desk, obtained 1,665 pages of documents on the Zuckerberg house dispute. This story is now canon.

Zoe Schiffer: Caroline Haskins is a complete star. Our fact-checking team literally cried when I asked them the question. They were like, “Wait, sorry, how many documents are we looking at?” I was like, “Yes.”

Léa Feiger: Thanks to the WIRED research team.

Zoe Schiffer: Absolutely. The school, I think it just has to be said, is named after one of the Zuckerberg family chickens. It’s called Bicken Ben School.

Léa Feiger: I mean, hearing you say that is, I know you’re serious, but again.

Zoe Schiffer: So the Crescent City neighborhood in Palo Alto, where the Zuckerbergs live, as you might imagine, is some of the best real estate in the entire country. It’s filled with these beautiful houses, a ton of greenery. Mark Zuckerberg has expanded his presence over the years in this ultra-chic neighborhood. The land the Zuckerbergs live on has expanded to include 11 previously separate properties. It’s so funny and such a nightmare. If you live on the street, you paid anything, $5 million for your house, and suddenly all your neighbors are Mark Zuckerberg.

Léa Feiger: It’s important to note that not all of them connect either. I don’t totally understand what that means. Do they walk across a neighbor’s porch to get to their horse’s pool? What does this imply?

Zoe Schiffer: We have more questions. We need to look this up on Google Earth. I think there are some gaps in this story that we need to fill. Expansion first became a concern for Mark Zuckerberg’s neighbors, in 2016, due to concerns that his purchases would send the market up quite dramatically. But then, about five years later, neighbors began noticing that a school appeared to be operating out of Zuckerberg’s compound. It is therefore illegal to do so without a permit, at least under the area’s residential zoning code. So, naturally, neighbors started alerting the city. Caroline Haskins, the reporter on the case, obtained more than a thousand documents, as you said, describing the resulting fight between neighbors and city officials, essentially arguing that, to them, it seemed like the Zuckerbergs were getting special treatment.