Facebook has announced that it is changing its company name to “Meta”, in a rebranding effort after a series of PR nightmares in recent weeks

“Announcing @Meta — the Facebook company’s new name. Meta is helping to build the metaverse, a place where we’ll play and connect in 3D. Welcome to the next chapter of social connection,” the company tweeted from its official account, which also had its name changed.  

The social media giant is under huge scrutiny of the real-world harms from its various platforms after hundreds of internal documents regarding the same were leaked.

Also read: What is Metaverse? Zuckerberg’s new vision for Facebook

Facebook website and app will now be just one of the company’s subsidiaries, alongside Instagram and WhatsApp.

The company’s shares will start trading under a new ticker symbol, “MVRS” from December 1.

“The metaverse is the next evolution of social connection. Our company’s vision is to help bring the metaverse to life, so we are changing our name to reflect our commitment to this future,” the homepage of the meta.com website says.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said that he expects the metaverse to reach a billion people within the next decade. It will be a place people will be able to interact, work and create products and content in what he hopes will be a new ecosystem that creates millions of jobs for creators.

In explaining the rebrand, Zuckerberg said the name “Facebook” just doesn’t encompass everything the company does anymore. In addition to its primary social network, which now includes Instagram, Messenger, its Quest VR headset, its Horizon VR platform, and more.

Also read: Facebook rebranding: All about ‘Meta’, the new platform

Just as smartphones replaced desktop computers, Zuckerberg is betting that the metaverse will be the next way people will interact with computers — and each other. If Instagram and messaging were Facebook’s forays into the mobile evolution, Meta is its bet on the metaverse. 

(With AP inputs)