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Facebook has 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 Facebook says will be the future of social networking.

But it is also likely an attempt to move on from the intense scrutiny and criticism it has faced in recent weeks and years, which has focused on everything from privacy to the damage it is doing to young people.

The blue app will continue to be known as Facebook, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said. But the branding will be removed from everywhere else, such as the WhatsApp and Instagram.

All of those various apps will now instead live under the "Meta" brand, with Facebook just one of those many different apps.

Mr Zuckerberg published a "Founders Letter" explaining his reasonings for the rebrand, and noted that he would not be stepping down as CEO of the company.

Some journalists have treated the rebrand with a hefty dose of skepticism, even calling on other reporters to ignore the change and to continue referring to the company as "Facebook."

The name change is Facebook's second. In 2005, the company changed it's name from theFacebook to just "Facebook."

Key Points

Facebook announces it will now be called "Meta" and reveals new logo
This is Facebook's second name change
Journalists say other reporters should ignore the rebranding attempt
Facebook's stock ticker will also change
Mark Zuckerberg confirms he is not stepping down
Mark Zuckerberg publishes "Founder's Letter" explaining the rebrand

Hello and welcome

Thursday 28 October 2021 19:37 , Andrew Griffin

... to The Independent's live coverage of the fallout from Facebook's announcement that it will rebrand as "Meta".

Watch the announcement on Facebook's special site

Thursday 28 October 2021 19:41 , Andrew Griffin

You can watch the keynote presentation, during which Mark Zuckerberg announced the name change, on Facebook*'s devoted website for the Facebook Connect conference.

Be aware that you'll need to skip to the last 10 minutes to see the big moment. The rest is mostly airy stuff about the metaverse which is potentially interesting but not especially concrete.

Another thing to be aware of is that Facebook will require you to log in with your Facebook account to watch it. (This was something that Mark Zuckerberg said it was aware of complaints about generally – it forces you to log in to use Oculus, for instance, and to use your personal account for its work tools – and said he would be changing.)

* Or should that be meta?

A lot has changed in two years

Thursday 28 October 2021 19:44 , Andrew Griffin

In 2019, Facebook was rebranding WhatsApp and Instagram so they'd be more closely associated with the bigger company's name. Back then, it added from "from Facebook" to the names of the app, and started showing the messaging within the apps too.

Just two years later and Mark Zuckerberg seems to be done with the name, announcing that it will be changed and that it will be making those apps more separate in their branding too.

New name brings new logo

Thursday 28 October 2021 19:46 , Andrew Griffin

Here's what the Meta logo will look like:

Not Facebook's first name change

Thursday 28 October 2021 19:50 , Andrew Griffin

This might be the most dramatic name change Facebook has had. But it's not the first – 16 years ago, it lost its "The".

Other bits of Facebook lose their 'Facebook'

Thursday 28 October 2021 19:52 , Andrew Griffin

Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth, who runs what was called "Facebook Reality Labs", has said that his division will have its name changed too:

Some journalists say new name should be ignored

Thursday 28 October 2021 19:55 , Andrew Griffin

The name change isn't being accepted by everyone, already. Some journalists are arguing that the whole thing should largely be ignored:

This does mostly happen with Google already. Despite that company's rebrand, "Alphabet" tends to be used only when specifically talking about the parent company as separate from its products.

(And it's worth remembering that Google's name change didn't come at a time when it was so obviously rebranding to get away from a variety of controversies...)

Facebook confirms name change – and ticker change

Thursday 28 October 2021 19:57 , Andrew Griffin

Facebook has posted a blog in which it confirms the name change – and that it will come to its stock ticker, too.

It will now be known not as $FB but $MVRS, and Facebook says it has already reserved that.

It also explains how the new entity will exist financially:

"Our corporate structure is not changing, however, how we report on our financials will," the blog post reads. "Starting with our results for the fourth quarter of 2021, we plan to report on two operating segments: Family of Apps and Reality Labs.

"We also intend to start trading under the new stock ticker we have reserved, MVRS, on December 1. Today's announcement does not affect how we use or share data."

The full post – which links out in more detail to some of the announcements – can be found here.

Mark Zuckerberg says he'll still be the boss

Thursday 28 October 2021 19:59 , Andrew Griffin

Whatever you call it – Facebook or Meta – Mark Zuckerberg wants to keep running it. He has done an interview with The Information in which he says he will not be stepping down as CEO.

The full thing is here.

Facebook publishes "Founder's Letter"

Thursday 28 October 2021 20:00 , Andrew Griffin

A new company – supposedly – calls for a new founder's letter. And here it is – a long document from Mark Zuckerberg in which he explains why he has rebranded the company and what he hopes will happen to it.

The full document can be found here.

Facebook provides "sneak peak" into what they hope Meta will become

Thursday 28 October 2021 20:08 , Graig Graziosi

Facebook provided a video meant to visualise what it hopes Meta will become.

The video featured a combination of virtual reality-like and augmented reality interactions using avatars in a digital space.

Zuckerberg denies bad news cycle drove company name change

Thursday 28 October 2021 20:37 , Graeme Massie

According to Mr Zuckerberg, the current cycle of negative Facebook news "had nothing to bear on this."

"Even though I think some people might want to make that connection, I think that's sort of a ridiculous thing. If anything, I think that this is not the environment that you would want to introduce a new brand in," he said in an interview with The Verge.

Facebook ridiculed for changing its name to Meta

Thursday 28 October 2021 20:44 , Graeme Massie

Twitter users were quick to ridicule Facebook for changing its corporate name to Meta following a tidal wave of criticism and scandalous revelations.

"Facebook just changed their name to META. Honestly this is insane news," one Twitter user wrote.

Another added that Mark Zuckerbeg had "a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's on the bookshelf as he announces Facebook's rebrand to Meta. If this isn't proof we are in a simulation [I don't know] what is"

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Facebook ridiculed for changing its name

New sign already up at Facebook headquarters in California

Thursday 28 October 2021 21:05 , Graeme Massie

The old Facebook '"like" image is gone from the company's Menlo Park headquarters and has already been replaced with the new "Meta" logo.

What is next for FAANG?

Thursday 28 October 2021 21:13 , Graeme Massie

With Facebook changing its name to Meta, what will happen to the term "FAANG", an acronym used for all of the tech giants?

The term, used often as an industry shorthand in the media, stood for Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google, but that will surely need to be adjusted now that Facebook is becoming Meta.

Obama senior adviser mocks Facebook rebrand

Thursday 28 October 2021 21:30 , Graeme Massie

"Facebook is one of the least liked, least trusted companies on the planet," tweeted Dan Pfeiffer.

"They are in the middle of a massive scandal about their involvement in genocide, human trafficking, and disinformation. And their next move is to say: 'What if you could live inside Facebook?'"

AOC blasts Facebook as 'cancer to democracy' as it changes name to Meta

Thursday 28 October 2021 22:34 , Graeme Massie

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has blasted Facebook as a 'cancer to democracy' and mocked its announcement the company is changing its name to Meta.

"Meta as in "we are a cancer to democracy metastasizing into a global surveillance and propaganda machine for boosting authoritarian regimes and destroying civil society… for profit!" the New York lawmaker tweeted.

Twitter mocks Facebook's Meta name change

Thursday 28 October 2021 23:15 , Graeme Massie

Twitter has mocked Facebook's name change to Meta on its own social media platform.

"The only #META we acknowledge is this," the Twitter Safety Account posted along with an article on Twitter's Machine Learning, Ethics, Transparency and Accountability team.

Twitter mocks Mark Zuckerberg's announcement on Facebook name change

Friday 29 October 2021 00:07 , Graeme Massie

Twitter has mocked Mark Zuckerberg's announcement that Facebook is changing its name to Meta on its own social media platform.

"The only #META we acknowledge is this," the Twitter Safety Account posted along with an article on Twitter's Machine Learning, Ethics, Transparency and Accountability team.

The Facebook boss said on Thursday that the company's name change was part of its commitment to its "metaverse" all-encompassing technology strategy.

Twitter mocks Mark Zuckerberg's announcement on Facebook name change

Patagonia calls for more firms to boycott Facebook

01:15 , Graeme Massie

The outdoor clothing company says that companies must pressure the social media giant to fix its platforms in the wake of the Facebook Papers.

"We believe Facebook has a responsibility to make sure its products do no harm, and until they do, Patagonia will continue to withhold our advertising," CEO Ryan Gellert said in a statement to CNN.

"We encourage other businesses to join us in pushing Facebook to prioritize people and planet over profit."

Patagonia pulled its adverts off Facebook last summer "because they spread hate speech and misinformation about climate change and our democracy. We continue to stand by that boycott 16 months later," added Mr Gellert.

Daily Show pokes fun at Facebook name change

02:01 , Graeme Massie

"Gonna take awhile to get used to saying "He was radicalized in a META group," a tweet from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah read.

UK's Aldi supermarket chain has fun with Facebook name change

03:03 , Graeme Massie

The discount supermarket chain's UK Twitter account got in on poking fun at Facebook's name change to Meta.

"brb changing our name," the company tweeted with a mocked up picture of their new logo.

Twitter's Twitter has some fun with facebook name change

03:59 , Graeme Massie

Jack Dorsey's social media platform had some fun with Mark Zuckerberg's announcement that Facebook is changing its name to Meta.

"BIG NEWS lol jk still Twitter," tweeted Twitter's official Twitter account.

04:53 , Vishwam Sankaran

Daily Show mocks Facebook name change to Meta

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah mocks Facebook's name change to Meta showing Zuckerberg in a virtual tiki torch rally, and immersing himself in a VR experience of the 6 January US Capitol Hill riot.

05:17 , Vishwam Sankaran

Image of Meta's new smartwatch leaks on the web

The image, as shared by Bloomberg, shows a smartwatch with a front-facing camera and rounded screen.

The product, expected to be a competitor to Apple's smartwatch, was revealed to have a camera built at the bottom of the screen, which has a small notch.

05:32 , Vishwam Sankaran

The Tonight Show pokes fun at Facebook's name change to Meta

The late-night show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon mocked the change on Twitter comparing it to fast food outlets making name changes after an E. coli outbreak.

06:14 , Vishwam Sankaran

US Senator blasts Facebook's rebranding, says the company "can run," but "can't hide"

Sen. Richard Blumenthal has blasted Facebook's name change to Meta, adding the company's move "won't erase years of devious practices."

The senator, who has been critical of Facebook following whistleblower Frances Haugen's report, said the name change may "may confuse & distract," but would not erase its "disregard for privacy, kids' wellbeing, spreading hate, & genocide."

07:35 , Vishwam Sankaran

Shares of Canadian materials company soar after mistaken Facebook identity

The shares of Meta Materials, a Canadian materials technology company, rose by about 30 per cent, after Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg announced Thursday that his company will be called Meta.

While Meta Materials is a science company and has nothing to do with Facebook, experts think the investment surge could be a case of mistaken identity.

This is similar to the rise in shares of Zoom Technologies in April 2019 when investors mistook it for Zoom Video Communications, a video conferencing company.

Why Facebook says it changed its name – and why it might really have done so

11:12 , Andrew Griffin

Facebook has explained its name change. But that probably isn't the full story.

Here's both the official reason and what might really be going on.