Facebook Rebranding as META

Why did Facebook change its name to META?

Photo by Roman Martyniuk on Unsplash

In the world of the Internet where it was supposed to build up democracies, the Internet is attacking Democracy through hate speeches and celebration of Violence.

The use of the internet was thought to bring the world closer and help in building up democracies, social media over the Internet is attacking Democracy, in this matter, Facebook comes first.

Facebook is historically the first in its mankind iconic social media brand. It has over 3 billion active users that are almost half of the world population. Facebook-owned Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Quest and other popular social media sites. Then CEO of Facebook on 23rd October 2021 said they will continue to design technologies around people but by changing the name from Facebook to META. They meant it is now Metaverse first! Not Facebook first!

Meta is a Greek word that means ‘Beyond’. CEO believes there is always the next chapter to the story and META is the beyond capabilities of Facebook to expand.

META or Metaverse Company will be the parent Company for Facebook and other social media brands but will also include the work on future platforms. That is Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and other apps which belonged to Facebook earlier will now get into a box under the name Meta. He said the META Company will be looking and reporting on business with two different segments.

1. Family apps (WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger etc)

2. Work on Future platforms.

Experts call Metaverse a complicated Technology that is parallel to the digital world. In which people will see their digital Avatar.

Photo by Tom Sodoge on Unsplash

But why did Facebook change its name to META?

1. The recent leak of Facebook papers, the whistleblowing of FB former employee Frances Haugen exposed Facebook with internal records that FB claimed that on record 90% of the hate content is removed from Facebook but in reality, it was just 5% of the hate content were actually removed since 2019. The Facebook Algorithm works as such it will promote and spread hatred content.

2. Facebook had been always in news for the spread of religious hatred in India and all over the world. The internal investigation team of India in 2019 stated that the new user is recommended posts full of hate speech, a celebration of violence. Facebook had a major role in the Delhi riots in 2019 as well.

3. As serious allegations were raised over users’ privacy and data security of the Facebook app, the US charged over $5 dollars on Facebook for a breach in the privacy policy of users.

4. Facebook allowed fake news to spread. The recent attack on Hindus in Bangladesh was due to the fast spread of provocation posts of religious hatred. This invite a large mob of people and minority peoples were killed.

5. Facebook platform allowed recruitment and facilitation of Human trafficking, Domestic helpers on sale and unethical acts as such. Such profiles were not blocked by Facebook even after getting exposed in public.

6. The Ethiopian civil war which break out in late 2020, Facebook had played a prominent role in facilitating genocidal violence. The after research showed facebook fall short of removing accounts of those spreading violence. But Facebook did not block the armed group accounts.

7. Instead of spreading Communal harmony, Facebook always fanned riots and violence in the name of religions, caste, and Countries. It has played a role that fuels the fire in the name of religion.

8. In today’s world where data is the new fuel, Facebook mines users’ data and makes money out of it. It hides the truth, and let push the extremists to the extreme.

9. Facebook has been involved in targeted political Campaigns in the 2020 US presidential elections. It sold users data and let peoples use Facebook to steal elections. For more details-

[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/cambridge-analytica-facebook-influence-us-election](http://The Guardian News)

To summarize, Facebook had weaponised the Internet. When the flip side of Facebook and its policy is exposed in the world, it desperately wanted good reviews, A press that will talk about its good side. And what would have been better than changing the name?

Facebook decided to change with name Meta.

This is seen as an attempt to distract the world from its tarnishing image.

Can Facebook stop earning profits from unethical ways?

Of course, Yes! Only if it hires enough people and facilitate tools to genuinely remove the fake news and hatred content from its platform. But this won’t suit its agenda of Profits from hate speech!