After Facebook announced on Thursday that the company would change its name to Meta and revealed its new logo, it was trolled heavily for various reasons, including Facebook CEO Mark Zukerberg's "performance" during his virtual news conference.

But in Israel, the renaming caused quite a stir, as the new company name is similar to the Hebrew word for "dead."

Dr Nirit Weiss-Blatt, author and tech expert, tweeted, "In Hebrew, *Meta* means *Dead* The Jewish community will ridicule this name for years to come." (https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/30/tech/hebrew-speakers-mock-facebook-meta-rebrand-intl-scli/index.html)

There was much fun on Twitter on Facebook in Israel at the expense of Facebook. For instance, ZAKA emergency service, which collects bodies following accidents or attacks and ensures proper Jewish burial, tweeted: "Don't worry, we're on it."
(https://www.timesofisrael.com/facebooks-new-meta-handle-means-dead-in-hebrew/)

Zuckerberg said at the conference that "Meta" will better "encompass" the company's overall mission as it builds a "metaverse" for its users. "Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company and I want to anchor our work and our identity on what we're building towards," he said. People in Israel and Hebrew speakers worldwide are wondering how he will build on something that is "dead".

Read more:

What is the "grave" error in Facebook's name change?
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/29/facebook-new-name-mocked-in-israel-it-sounds-like-the-hebrew-for-dead