A majority of Americans still have a positive view of Facebook despite new whistleblower documents that have mired the company in scandal, a new Morning Consult poll found - but fewer are on board with the company’s name change to “Meta” and focus on the Metaverse, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains overwhelmingly unpopular,
Forbes reports.
The poll, conducted October 29 - November 1 among 2,200 U.S. adults, found 55% of respondents have a “very” or “somewhat favorable” view of Facebook, while 39% view it negatively.
Only 25% have a positive view of its new Meta name and 40% view it unfavorably, however, while 32% like the company’s new logo and 30% do not.
Zuckerberg has a net favorability rating of negative 32 points, with only 22% viewing the CEO favorably and 54% holding an unfavorable view.
When asked whether they’re interested in the company’s new Metaverse virtual reality project based on what they know about it, 68% said they’re not interested in it and only 32% said they are.
The most likely demographics to back the Metaverse were Millennials (46% interested), Gen Zers (44%), those in urban communities (43%) and men (39%), but no group had a majority saying they were interested in the virtual reality project.
Though Zuckerberg said the company’s name change to Meta was to better “reflect who we are and the future we hope to build” with the Metaverse, half of respondents said they believed the company actually changed its name to “distance itself from negative press” (51%) or “distract” from the company’s scandals (50%).
