Facebook changed its name to 'Meta' – and celebrities, politicians, and brands quickly roasted it | Business Insider India

• Facebook announced it is changing its name to “Meta” on Thursday.
• Celebrities, politicians, and brands poked fun at the new name on Twitter.

People on the internet were quick to poke fun at Facebook’s new name, Meta.

After the news was announced on Thursday, jokes about the name change went viral, as brands, politicians, and celebrities took shots at the new name.

“And it was on that day that ‘that’s so meta’ went from being an interesting observation to a devastating insult,” popular YouTuber Hank Green tweeted.

-Hank Green (@hankgreen) October 28, 2021

“‘Meta’ is short for ‘I meta girl in high school who I had a huge crush on only to find her years later on Facebook posting anti-vax links and Tom Hanks pedophile theories,'” comedy writer Matt Oswalt tweeted, referencing Q-anon conspiracy theories.

-Matt swalt (@MattOswaltVA) October 28, 2021

Many people used the new name as an opportunity to take digs at Facebook’s reputation for misinformation.

-The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) October 28, 2021

Other users pointed out the timing, saying it’s a step for the company to distance itself from recent controversy. The announcement comes amid a series of negative reports about Facebook’s business practices.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has publicly denied that the new name has anything to do with the recent controversy, calling the idea “ridiculous.” Instead, he says “Meta” underscores the company’s plans to build a virtual universe called the metaverse.

-Mr. Newberger (@jeremynewberger) October 29, 2021

Several politicians, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, slammed the name.

-Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 28, 2021

A former White House advisor expressed concern that Zuckerberg would quickly become “king” of the virtual universe.

-Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) October 28, 2021

While many users had concerns about the name change, others had fun with the new branding.

-HappyToast ★ (@IamHappyToast) October 28, 2021

Several brands reacted to Facebook’s new name. Wendy’s joked it was changing its own name to “Meat,” and an Aldi Store UK account teased they’d change their logo to “Betta.”

-Twitter (@Twitter) October 28, 2021

Twitter had some criticism for Meta. Its CEO Jack Dorsey called the new name “self-referential,” while Twitter’s safety team said the only Meta it would acknowledge was its own internal META team.

Though Facebook’s announcement caused a stir on social media, experts told Insider’s Katie Canales that the new name will not be enough for Facebook to win back consumers’ trust or shield it from the backlash surrounding the leaked documents detailing its business practices.

Facebook will start trading under the new stock ticker MVRS in December.

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