Washington, DC — Today, Facebook announced that it will be rebranding under a new company named Meta. Muslim Advocates has spent years trying to get Facebook to stop the spread of dangerous, anti-Muslim hate on the company’s platforms. In April, Muslim Advocates also sued Facebook for misleadingly claiming to the public and to Congress that it takes down hateful content.

The following is a statement from Muslim Advocates Communications Director Eric Naing:

“A name change won’t change the fact that Facebook, or Meta or whatever the company calls itself after its next public relations crisis is still harming the public by allowing hate and misinformation to run rampant. This branding change is straight out of the Facebook playbook. Every time Mark Zuckerberg gets exposed and faces real scrutiny, he throws out some shiny distraction to try and survive the news cycle without having to be held accountable. Today is no different. 

As Muslim Advocates’ advocacy and the advocacy of so many others have shown, Facebook is hurting people all over the world by allowing hate and threats to spread unchecked on their platforms. And as the numerous leaks over the past few weeks have shown, Facebook knows this and keeps doing next to nothing to stop it. 

Instead of worrying about a virtual reality, Facebook needs to actually do something about the hate, violence and even genocide that it continues to enable in our reality.”

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Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization working in the courts, in the halls of power and in communities to halt bigotry in its tracks. We ensure that American Muslims have a seat at the table with expert representation so that all Americans may live free from hate and discrimination.