Facebook's rebrand meta lot of online mockery on Thursday.
The rebrand comes amid widespread public scrutiny after internal corporate documents revealed employee dissent over the platform's policies. It also signifies company's shift to a broader online presence beyond social media — Zuckerberg wants Facebook to pioneer what he calls the "next frontier" of the "metaverse," a shared virtual reality space accessible by the internet.
The social media site known as Facebook will continue operating under the name Facebook. Meta will be the corporate umbrella that controls Instagram and WhatsApp. Along with Messenger, Meta will control four of the most popular smartphone apps worldwide.
“You’re going to be able to do almost anything you can imagine,” Zuckerberg said during the announcement. “Teleporting around the metaverse is going to be like clicking a link on the web.”
Despite the endless possibilities promised in the metaverse, Facebook still isn’t safe from mockery in this reality.
Meta became the butt of Twitter jokes on Thursday, inspiring puns and drawing comparisons to infamous unsuccessful rebrands.
Some got a little punny in their reactions.
Others referenced former NBA player Metta World Peace, who changed his name again 2020 to Metta Sandiford-Artest.
A few people alluded to the 2010 film, "The Social Network," about the formation of Facebook, and joked about a sequel.
And, of course, there were quips about how a rebrand likely won't change much.