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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Technology
Kari Paul and Dan Milmo

‘Every move scrutinized’: Facebook’s rocky road to the metaverse

mark zuckerberg on screen in front of new logo
Mark Zuckerberg announces Facebook’s name change in an October presentation. Photograph: Eric Risberg/AP

It would hardly be hyperbole to say that since its founding in 2004, Facebook has taken over the world – counting more than 50% of the global population as its user base. But after years of domination built on advertising revenue, the company has nearly overnight tried to knock down that empire and build anew.

In October 2021, more than 15 years and 2.8 billion users after the then student Mark Zuckerberg launched the social media platform from his college dorm, Facebook announced it had become “Meta” and was refocusing on the company’s virtual reality endeavors.

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