Meta’s fatal flaw

Facebook’s name change face-plant

Facebook’s new name caused a stir in Israel, where the company’s new name “Meta” is similar to the Hebrew word for “dead”.

Mark Zuckerberg announces Facebook's rebrand. Photo: Video screenshot
Mark Zuckerberg announces Facebook's rebrand. Photo: Video screenshot

LOTS of fun has been had at the expense of Mark Zuckerberg since he announced Facebook’s rebrand. The revelation last month that the company would henceforth be called Meta was widely ridiculed on social media.

But it really caused a stir in Israel, where the new company name is similar to the Hebrew word for “dead”.

“The Jewish community will ridicule this name for years to come,” tweeted Israeli tech expert Nirit Weiss-Blatt.

The ZAKA emergency service, which specialises in collecting body parts following accidents or attacks to ensure a proper Jewish burial, tweeted: “Don’t worry, we’re on it.”

ZAKA added the Hebrew hashtag התמ_קובסייפ#, meaning Facebook_Dead, but pronounced Facebook_Meta.

Others who caught on to the humourous translation tweeted the hashtag #FacebookDead.

The new handle comes as the social media giant tries to fend off one of its worst crises yet and pivot to its ambitions for the “metaverse” virtual reality version of the internet that the tech giant sees as the future.

It still doesn’t change the fact that a younger Zuckerberg should have paid more attention in Hebrew class.

WITH TIMES OF ISRAEL

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