---
title: Facebook is now Meta
description: Facebook is now Meta.
---

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# [Facebook is now Meta](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/10292021-facebook-meta)

 Written by [Trung T. Phan](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/trung-t-phan) | Oct 29, 2021 7:55:21 AM

The last time Mark Zuckerberg renamed his social network, it was very cosmetic: dropping “The” from “The Facebook” (thank you, [Justin Timberlake](https://youtu.be/dU6scly2AFU?t=175)).

Yesterday, Facebook received a full makeover and will now be known as **Meta**.

#### **Why the change?**

The official reason is that Facebook wants a name to reflect its ambitions in the metaverse, which is a future vision of the internet that is a persistent shared digital space (and probably includes AR or VR tools).

Earlier in the week, Zuckerberg announced at Facebook’s earnings call that 2021 operating profits would fall by [~$10B](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/25/facebook-fb-q3-earnings-report.html) because of the company’s huge investments in VR and metaverse-related hardware.

On Thursday, Zuckerberge laid out…

#### **… the full metaverse road map**

It took place during the Facebook Connect event. Here are [highlights](https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/28/22745234/facebook-new-name-meta-metaverse-zuckerberg-rebrand) per *The Verge*:

- **“Meta” name: **While obviously a nod to the “metaverse,” Zuckerberg already owned the URL meta.org for his medical philanthropic arm
- **Facebook Reality Labs: **Zuckerberg said Meta’s corporate structure will stay the same but that the company will now report 2 operating segments: Family of Apps (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram etc.) and Facebook Reality Labs (VR/AR/Metaverse operations)
- **Examples of the Metaverse**: In a 1hr+ [video](https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=577658430179350), Zuckerberg demo’d what metaverse life may look like including virtual fitness, exploration, and workplace activities
- **Ticker change: **Facebook will start trading as $MVRS on December 1 (replacing $FB)

#### **The changes come with Facebook under fire**

Over the past few weeks, leaked internal documents — provided by former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen — showed how the platform was failing to police [hate speech](https://www.npr.org/2021/10/06/1043138622/facebook-instagram-teens-mental-health) and potentially creating a toxic environment for teenage well-being.

Two popular comparisons for Facebook’s name change:

- when cigarette giant Phillip Morris rebranded as [Altria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Morris_USA#Altria)
- when Google rebranded as [Alphabet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabet_Inc.#History)

The former was done as a way to ditch a toxic brand. The latter was done to create a tech holding business. How will history remember Facebook’s rebrand?

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/10292021-facebook-meta)

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