Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (L) announced the social media giant's new name is Meta--a name already used by a leftist think tank in Greece whose advisory board includes economist and political figure Yanis Varoufakis (R).
'Hands Off,' Varoufakis Tells Zuckerberg After Facebook Steals 'Meta' Name From Anti-Capitalist Think Tank
"You, and your minions, wouldn't recognize civilization even if it hit you with a bargepole," said the former Greek finance minister, slamming Facebook's CEO for the social media giant's new name.
As Facebook faces a firestorm for changing its corporate name to Meta amid heightened scrutiny over how the tech titan harms humanity, Greek economist and Progressive International co-founder Yanis Varoufakis on Friday called out the company for stealing the moniker of a global anti-capitalist think tank.
Varoufakis, in a tweet, took aim at Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who announced the new name at a conference Thursday, as the social media company contends with widespread criticism of its practices thanks to revelations from former-employees-turned-whistleblowers.
"Hands off our meta, Our Center for Postcapitalist Civilization, Mr. Zuckerberg," tweeted the former Greek finance minister, who is on the think tank's advisory board. "You, and your minions, wouldn't recognize civilization even if it hit you with a bargepole."
The mission page of meta's website explains that "we are already in the early stages of an era that can only be described by that which it succeeds: we live in postcapitalist times. They may turn out dystopic, utopic, or anything in between."
"Through art and research, argument, and poetry," the site says, "meta (the abbreviation of our Our Center for Postcapitalist Civilization) works to break with a dystopic present to imagine the world anew--to grasp our present historical moment so as to help radical progressive movements find a path from the emergent dismal postcapitalism to one worth fighting, and living, for."
Along with Varoufakis, other advisory board members include scholar Noam Chomsky, musician Brian Eno, filmmaker Ken Loach, economist James K. Galbraith, and philosopher Slavoj Zizek.
In addition to the social network Facebook, Meta also owns the photo- and video-sharing platform Instagram as well as the messaging application WhatsApp.
As Common Dreams reported Thursday, while Zuckerberg celebrated the new corporate name for the company, tech ethicists and branding professionals warned the world not to be "fooled" by the move.
"It's tempting to view Facebook's rebranding as nothing more than a cynical attempt by the company to distance itself from endless scandals and the real-world harm caused by its surveillance capitalist business model. But it's actually much more sinister than that," said Evan Greer, director of the digital rights group Fight for the Future, in a statement Friday.
"With this announcement Mark Zuckerberg revealed his end game: He's making a play to control the future of the Internet," she asserted, accusing the CEO of "co-opting the terminology of decentralization and attempting to solidify his stranglehold on the future of human attention and interaction."
Emphasizing the the importance of recognizing that "the Internet is changing," Greer argued that "we need to fight tooth and nail to ensure that the policies governing this next generation of the Internet are carefully crafted to protect vulnerable communities, free expression, and human rights--and that they don't undermine the potential of truly decentralized technologies, which could help finally end the era of Big Tech surveillance capitalism."
"We are at a crossroads," she said. "It's time to decide what we want the future of the Internet to look like. And then it's time to fight for that vision. Before it's too late."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
As Facebook faces a firestorm for changing its corporate name to Meta amid heightened scrutiny over how the tech titan harms humanity, Greek economist and Progressive International co-founder Yanis Varoufakis on Friday called out the company for stealing the moniker of a global anti-capitalist think tank.
Varoufakis, in a tweet, took aim at Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who announced the new name at a conference Thursday, as the social media company contends with widespread criticism of its practices thanks to revelations from former-employees-turned-whistleblowers.
"Hands off our meta, Our Center for Postcapitalist Civilization, Mr. Zuckerberg," tweeted the former Greek finance minister, who is on the think tank's advisory board. "You, and your minions, wouldn't recognize civilization even if it hit you with a bargepole."
The mission page of meta's website explains that "we are already in the early stages of an era that can only be described by that which it succeeds: we live in postcapitalist times. They may turn out dystopic, utopic, or anything in between."
"Through art and research, argument, and poetry," the site says, "meta (the abbreviation of our Our Center for Postcapitalist Civilization) works to break with a dystopic present to imagine the world anew--to grasp our present historical moment so as to help radical progressive movements find a path from the emergent dismal postcapitalism to one worth fighting, and living, for."
Along with Varoufakis, other advisory board members include scholar Noam Chomsky, musician Brian Eno, filmmaker Ken Loach, economist James K. Galbraith, and philosopher Slavoj Zizek.
In addition to the social network Facebook, Meta also owns the photo- and video-sharing platform Instagram as well as the messaging application WhatsApp.
As Common Dreams reported Thursday, while Zuckerberg celebrated the new corporate name for the company, tech ethicists and branding professionals warned the world not to be "fooled" by the move.
"It's tempting to view Facebook's rebranding as nothing more than a cynical attempt by the company to distance itself from endless scandals and the real-world harm caused by its surveillance capitalist business model. But it's actually much more sinister than that," said Evan Greer, director of the digital rights group Fight for the Future, in a statement Friday.
"With this announcement Mark Zuckerberg revealed his end game: He's making a play to control the future of the Internet," she asserted, accusing the CEO of "co-opting the terminology of decentralization and attempting to solidify his stranglehold on the future of human attention and interaction."
Emphasizing the the importance of recognizing that "the Internet is changing," Greer argued that "we need to fight tooth and nail to ensure that the policies governing this next generation of the Internet are carefully crafted to protect vulnerable communities, free expression, and human rights--and that they don't undermine the potential of truly decentralized technologies, which could help finally end the era of Big Tech surveillance capitalism."
"We are at a crossroads," she said. "It's time to decide what we want the future of the Internet to look like. And then it's time to fight for that vision. Before it's too late."
As Facebook faces a firestorm for changing its corporate name to Meta amid heightened scrutiny over how the tech titan harms humanity, Greek economist and Progressive International co-founder Yanis Varoufakis on Friday called out the company for stealing the moniker of a global anti-capitalist think tank.
Varoufakis, in a tweet, took aim at Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who announced the new name at a conference Thursday, as the social media company contends with widespread criticism of its practices thanks to revelations from former-employees-turned-whistleblowers.
"Hands off our meta, Our Center for Postcapitalist Civilization, Mr. Zuckerberg," tweeted the former Greek finance minister, who is on the think tank's advisory board. "You, and your minions, wouldn't recognize civilization even if it hit you with a bargepole."
The mission page of meta's website explains that "we are already in the early stages of an era that can only be described by that which it succeeds: we live in postcapitalist times. They may turn out dystopic, utopic, or anything in between."
"Through art and research, argument, and poetry," the site says, "meta (the abbreviation of our Our Center for Postcapitalist Civilization) works to break with a dystopic present to imagine the world anew--to grasp our present historical moment so as to help radical progressive movements find a path from the emergent dismal postcapitalism to one worth fighting, and living, for."
Along with Varoufakis, other advisory board members include scholar Noam Chomsky, musician Brian Eno, filmmaker Ken Loach, economist James K. Galbraith, and philosopher Slavoj Zizek.
In addition to the social network Facebook, Meta also owns the photo- and video-sharing platform Instagram as well as the messaging application WhatsApp.
As Common Dreams reported Thursday, while Zuckerberg celebrated the new corporate name for the company, tech ethicists and branding professionals warned the world not to be "fooled" by the move.
"It's tempting to view Facebook's rebranding as nothing more than a cynical attempt by the company to distance itself from endless scandals and the real-world harm caused by its surveillance capitalist business model. But it's actually much more sinister than that," said Evan Greer, director of the digital rights group Fight for the Future, in a statement Friday.
"With this announcement Mark Zuckerberg revealed his end game: He's making a play to control the future of the Internet," she asserted, accusing the CEO of "co-opting the terminology of decentralization and attempting to solidify his stranglehold on the future of human attention and interaction."
Emphasizing the the importance of recognizing that "the Internet is changing," Greer argued that "we need to fight tooth and nail to ensure that the policies governing this next generation of the Internet are carefully crafted to protect vulnerable communities, free expression, and human rights--and that they don't undermine the potential of truly decentralized technologies, which could help finally end the era of Big Tech surveillance capitalism."
"We are at a crossroads," she said. "It's time to decide what we want the future of the Internet to look like. And then it's time to fight for that vision. Before it's too late."