Days after Facebook announced that its new name would be "Meta," users are pointing out that in Hebrew, the new name means, "dead."
Many users have begun responding to the name change by adding the hashtag #FacebookDead.
Dr. Nirit Weiss-Blatt, an expert in hi-tech and technology, tweeted a note to Facebook's communications staff, writing, "In Hebrew, the word 'Meta' means 'Dead.'"
"The Jewish community will make fun of this name for years to come."
One user wrote. "Thank you for giving all Hebrew speakers a good reason to laugh."
A Twitter user wrote cynically, "Is this an announcement, perhaps? Warning: I'm not a conspiracy theorist."
Yet another wrote, "Maybe Facebook, now Meta, should have done some more testing for its new branding."
ZAKA, an Israeli search and rescue organization which works to identify victims of disasters and provide corpses with proper treatment and burial, responded to Facebook's "death" by tweeting the new name, along with reassurances that, "Don't worry. We're on it."
Meanwhile, Meta Materials in Nova Scotia, Canada, saw its stocks rise by 6% on Friday, after users mistook it for the new Facebook.