A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment, saying the company doesn’t “comment on rumor or speculation.”
Zuckerberg, who co-founded the social network in 2004, has said that the key to Facebook’s future lies with the metaverse concept -- the idea that users will live, work and exercise inside a virtual universe. The company’s Oculus virtual reality headsets and service are an instrumental part of realizing that vision.
“In the coming years, I expect people will transition from seeing us primarily as a social media company to seeing us as a metaverse company,” Zuckerberg said in July. “In many ways the metaverse is the ultimate expression of social technology.”
Read more: Zuckerberg Says Facebook’s Future Lies in Virtual ‘Metaverse’
The rebranding would come at a time when Facebook is under fire from regulators, lawmakers and activists. Whistle-blower Frances Haugen has shared thousands of company documents with regulators and the Wall Street Journal. The documents detailed Facebook’s struggle with moderating its content and alleged deleterious mental-health effects of its photo-sharing app Instagram.

Nhlanhla Christopher Makhoba was dismissed from Clover in 2017 after posting on EyeWitness News’s Facebook site: “Whites mz be all killed”. (Image: Provided by GroundUp)