Spitting Image under fire for caricature of Mark Zuckerberg with gratuitously big nose

The satirical puppet show, Spitting Image, has come under fire for a caricature of Mark Zuckerberg with a gratuitously big nose.

The image of the founder and CEO of the social media giant, Facebook, has been revealed by the rebooted television show, eliciting complaints that the caricature has employed antisemitic stereotypes such as a big, hooked nose and ghoulish appearance.

Mr Zuckerberg is Jewish.

It has also previously been reported that Spitting Image undertook a consultation about the portrayal of black characters in its programme, out of concern about racist images and tropes. It is unclear if Jewish or other minority characters were also the subject of consultations of their own.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Spitting Image should explain why a Jewish personality has been caricatured to appear with a gratuitously large, hooked nose and ghoulish appearance, when in real life Mark Zuckerberg is not associated with either of those physical features. Satire is integral to comedy and a vital part of our public conversation, but it should be based in reality and not on lazy and offensive stereotypes.”

The new season of Spitting Image is due to appear on ITV on the streaming service, Britbox.