WASHINGTON — Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, tried to get ahead of a week of intense scrutiny for him and his company by visiting several top lawmakers in Washington on Monday and reiterating how sorry he was for the social network’s failings.

Mr. Zuckerberg, in a dark suit and tie and accompanied by an entourage of aides, held several meetings with leaders of the Senate Commerce and Judiciary Committees. He also posted testimony apologizing for Facebook’s role in false news, data privacy leaks and foreign interference in elections, as his company announced that it would form an independent commission of academic researchers to study social media’s impact on elections.

The blitz of actions preceded Mr. Zuckerberg’s facing lawmakers for the first time over Facebook’s role and influence on society, set off by revelations that the data of up to 87 million Facebook users was improperly harvested by a British political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica. Lawmakers, furious over the reports, called on Mr. Zuckerberg to explain himself. He is scheduled to testify before congressional committees on Tuesday and Wednesday, when he is set to be publicly grilled.

The prospect that Mr. Zuckerberg, a 33-year-old billionaire, will be taken to task on Capitol Hill has created intense interest and a media circus. On Monday, he was trailed by more than a dozen television cameras and numerous reporters when he exited the office of Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida and a Senate Commerce Committee leader. Mr. Zuckerberg said nothing as he strode out of an Senate office elevator, accompanied by Joel Kaplan, Facebook’s vice president for global public policy, who is based in Washington, and Brian Rice, a leading Democratic lobbyist for the social network, among others.