Does Mark Zuckerberg know what Meta means in Hebrew?
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By PJ Grisar October 29, 2021
Facebook is dead, long live Meta. But, actually, Meta is dead, too.
Let me explain.
On Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the new name for Facebook to mark its transition to what he calls “the metaverse.” The name, which is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Meta, doesn’t translate well. Unless that’s the point.
While the word, now applied to such narratively self-aware works as “Adaptation” and “Deadpool,” derives from the Greek prefix meaning “after” or beyond,” and indicates something that transcends the word it latches onto (think metaphysics), in Hebrew the word “Meta” is the feminine form of “is dead.” Don’t just take my word for it!
“Meta” in Hebrew means “is dead”. ?
— Michael Dickson (@michaeldickson) October 28, 2021
Meta means “dead” in Hebrew (feminine adjective).
Mark Zuckerberg must have slept through Hebrew class. pic.twitter.com/B7W9273EGK— Emmanuel Navon עמנואל נבון ?? (@emmanuelnavon) October 28, 2021
I know it has no importance but the translation of the word meta in Hebrew = she is dead.
Does it mean that FB is dead?.
Looks like it was killed by its dad.— RHS שהחיינו וקיימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה (@rachelhsh) October 29, 2021
Hebrew speakers may have chuckled at Zuckerberg’s pronouncement, from an eerily art-directed room, that Meta was chosen to better reflect “who we are and what we hope to build.” The metaverse he’s building, may be a subtle multilingual counter to Trump’s golem-esque Truth platform, with the Hebrew words “Emet” (Truth) and “Met” (Death) both playing a big role in the golem story.
It would be funny if it wasn’t all so morbid, seeming to portend the flailing end of a tech empire hoping to distract from intense public scrutiny prompted by a litany of scandals brought to light by reporting and a whistleblower.
Is Meta’s birth — or rather, naming — announcement really a proof of death? Only if Zuck is being meta in the self-aware sense and knows some Hebrew.
Zuckerberg’s company, by any other name, is now alleged to be a major source of societal rot, from devouring the self-esteem of teenagers to peddling misinformation to maintaining a startlingly feckless — or worse, laissez-faire — approach to policing hate speech.
So who really died here, with the rise of Meta? Society as we know it? The pre-Zuckerverse, where us poor plebes couldn’t text via Ray-Ban-branded augmented reality glasses while pretending to be paying attention to an in-person conversation?
The answer, far from an acknowledgment of defeat to the slings and arrows of Congressional investigation and investor distress, appears to be an invitation to a danse macabre, implicating us in the demise of life as we know it as he strives to “bring the metaverse to life.”
“Our mission remains the same, it’s still about bringing people together,” Zuckerberg insisted.
Sounds like a shiva.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
