Facebook Is Bringing Out An AI Universe Called ‘Metaverse’ And The Memes Are Hilarious

Yesterday, Facebook announced it will change its name to 'Meta' as part of a major rebrand. The new name is an attempt to focus on 'the metaverse' that Zuckerberg says will be the future of social networking.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg - who also owns Instagram and Whatsapp - announced Thursday at his company’s Connect event that its new name will be Meta. 'We are a company that builds technology to connect,' Zuckerberg said. 'Together, we can finally put people at the centre of our technology. And together, we can unlock a massively bigger creator economy.'

He added that the name Facebook doesn’t fully encompass everything the company does presently, and more reflects one product in the way it worked back in 2004. Meta, he says 'reflects who we are and what we hope to build. But over time, I hope we are seen as a metaverse company.'

What is 'Metaverse'?

The metaverse, if you’re wondering, is to be a digital world built over the one we currently live in, comprising virtual reality headsets and augmented reality to create it. The product/world/universe/network (?) launch came as the social media network announced it will change the name of its holding company to Meta.

But over on Facebook’s younger, distant cousin - Twitter - people are not exactly celebrating the change. One user wrote “I don't know what the sudden fascination is with a #metaverse but this is one technological advent the world doesn't need. #zuckerberg should spend the resources improving this world instead of trying to trick consumers into escaping to a virtual one” in response to the news, while another tweeted “I've seen Ready Player One... This doesn't end well” referencing the 2018 film by Steven Speilberg, which involves a universe where children enter a virtual world called ‘oasis’ and end up… well, nearly dying.

But with disdain for a rebrand no one asked for, comes some brilliant memes, puns and jokes.

The best memes about Facebook's 'Metaverse'

The meme potential appears to be the only thing users like about the Metaverse. One Twitter user said, 'I love the metaverse for giving us one of those rare Twitter days when the Main Character is a universally hated corporation and the memes are chefs kiss'

They do say nobody likes change, but people seem to really hate the 'Meta' rebrand.

Why is Facebook changing its name?

The rebrand comes suspiciously close to a series of public relations crises. Facebook has danced in and out of the headlines a lot during the last few years, being the centre of frequent, hot debate. Recently, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen - a former product manager from Facebook’s civic misinformation team - told MPs in parliament that Facebook 'Unquestionably' exacerbates hate and increasingly polarised political lies. She called for external regulation to reduce social harm from Facebook, saying “The company’s internal culture prioritises its impact on the wider world.”

Facebook has also come under fire for claims that their algorithm is inherently discriminative toward's people of protected social groups.

In true Twitter fashion, users have also commented on how the name change may just be a convenient distraction from all of Facebook’s problems.

But Zuckerberg has likely been planning this change for a long time. The Facebook CEO has long owned the Twitter handle @meta and the domain meta.com, which currently transfers to a welcome page on Facebook which outlines the rebrand. According to reports from The Verge, the site was previously redirected to meta.org, a biomedical research discovery tool founded by Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, back in 2015. Perhaps they really are changing the name to match the new vision.

So, when will Facebook change it's name to Meta?

It’s uncertain if the actual social networking platform we post pictures of our dinners on will have a name change, or if it’s just the parent company getting a makeover. In a Medium post on Thursday, the group says it’s sunsetting Meta.org on March 31st, 2022. So if it does happen, it will most likely be then.

Commenting on Facebook’s ongoing issues with discrimination allegations, one user wrote:

'Literally everyone: We need Facebook to be more transparent & accountable, to fight online abuse & misinformation, to protect its users and to stop over-censoring. Its monopoly is dangerous for democracy & FB needs to be open to change.

'Facebook: We’re listening - changes name'

Another wrote '#BREAK Facebook's new company name is Meta… It still has all the same problems it had this morning.'

And, really cementing the fact that a name change doesn’t make a difference to the network’s actual practices, the official Twitter account for The Daily Show posted “Gonna take a while to get used to saying “He was radicalized in a META group”

Why is #DeleteFacebook trending?

All this - amongst other frustrations - has led to #DeleteFacebook trending on Twitter in the US and the UK today. Essentially, after the whistleblowing and ongoing political unrest Facebook has contributed to, people are ready to deactivate their profiles.

Some companies have also dropped out of using Facebook for advertising, sharing their disappointment in the platform.

Responding to the logo that comes along with the ‘meta’ name change, one user wrote 'A droopy infinity symbol seems to be the perfect representation for a company that exists to exhaust us emotionally & financially. #DeleteFacebook'

But whether we’ll actually delete the little blue app we’re all used to seeing on our home screens is doubtful. They're not exactly lacking in profiles - approximately 44.84 million British people are active Facebook users (about 66% of us). And Facebook has changed its layout, colours and networking style so many times (it’s even changed twice in the last month!) and after a few hours of uproar, most of us get used to it and forget it ever happened. But with a silly name change on the horizon and Frances Haugen's campaign continuing, maybe we'll start pressing 'uninstall'.

Click through for the best comments celebrities have left on Instagram...