Facebook has announced it is changing its name to “Meta” to focus on its work on the “metaverse”.
Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the name change on Thursday night with a video suggesting users could engage in virtual reality, such as visiting a virtual recreation of their home or play virtual games with people across the world.
The new name will refer only to Facebook’s parent company, which also owns other apps including WhatsApp and Instagram. The Facebook app will keep its name.
Social media users were quick to react to the news, and hundreds of memes and jokes about Meta have been created.
Many mocked Zuckerberg’s new vision, suggesting that the rebranding was a ploy to distract users from Facebook’s numerous problems.
