Facebook Renames Itself Meta Amid Controversy Sparked By Whistle Blowers

SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook said Thursday it’s rebranding itself as Meta to reflect the company’s focus on building the metaverse, a virtual world where people work, play, learn and connect with their friends and family.

Meta will be a new corporate brand that will preside over Facebook and its services including photo app Instagram, messaging app WhatsApp and its virtual and augmented reality efforts. Facebook says it will start trading under the new stock ticker MVRS on Dec. 1.

In a preview of the metaverse, avatars are playing chess, standing in a virtual concert, learning and working remotely. In the next five to 10 years, Zuckerberg believes, these virtual experiences will become mainstream. In the next decade, he hopes there will be a billion users in the metaverse.