Facebook has changed its corporate name to Meta in a major rebranding exercise as the company’s image has been battered by a series of negative stories in the media based on documents leaked by a former employee.
Facebook said the new name would better "encompass" what it does, as it broadens its reach beyond social media into areas like virtual reality (VR).
The change, however, does not apply to its individual platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp which will retain their names. Only the name of the parent company that owns them has changed.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new name at a virtual conference as he unveiled plans to build a "metaverse" which is an online world where people can game, work and communicate in a virtual environment, through AR (Augmented Reality) glasses.
Also read: Is Facebook going for a new name to rebrand its image?
He said the existing brand could not "possibly represent everything that we're doing today, let alone in the future", and needed to change.
Zuckerberg said the new name reflects that over time, users will not need to use Facebook to use the company's other services.
The word "meta" comes from the Greek word meaning "beyond".
"We're now looking at and reporting on our business as two different segments, one for our family of apps, and one for our work on future platforms. And as part of this, it is time for us to adopt a new company brand to encompass everything that we do, to reflect who we are and what we hope to build," Zuckerberg said.
The company also unveiled a new sign at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Thursday, replacing its thumbs-up "Like" logo with a blue infinity shape.
The social media giant has been battling a fresh crisis since former employee Frances Haugen leaked reams of internal studies showing executives knew of their sites' potential for harm but still did not take any action as they put profit above all else. This has prompted a renewed push for regulation in the USA.
An activist group calling itself The Real Facebook Oversight Board has warned that major industries like oil and tobacco had rebranded to "deflect attention" from their problems.
"Facebook thinks that a rebrand can help them change the subject. But the real issue is the need for oversight and regulation.”
In 2015, Google restructured its company calling its parent firm Alphabet, however, the name has not caught on.
