Facebook's chief Mark Zuckerberg announced Thursday that he would be changing his company's name to 'Meta' to "build the next chapter."

The new brand comes as Facebook attempts to combat one of the worst crises it has been facing over the 17 years it has been around for.

The social media giant rebranded in a bid to steer toward the "metaverse" virtual reality version of the internet it sees as the future.

"We've learned a lot from struggling with social issues and living under closed platforms, and now it is time to take everything that we've learned and help build the next chapter," Zuckerberg said during an annual developers conference.

The CEO announced that the social media platforms Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram would keep their names following their rebranding.

"I am proud to announce that starting today, our company is now Meta. Our mission remains the same, still about bringing people together, our apps and their brands, they're not changing," he added.

Facebook critics have used a report leaked last week which revealed the plans to rebrand the parent company. They argued that Facebook was rebranding in a bid to distract the world from the scandals and controversy it has been facing.

One activist group, The Real Facebook Oversight Board, compared the rebranding plans to those carried out by major industries, such as oil and tobacco, to "deflect attention" from the problems they are facing.

"Facebook thinks that a rebrand can help them change the subject," the group said last week, following the leak. The "real issue" was the need for oversight and regulation, the group added.

The catastrophes - which are perceived as such by Facebook - the tech giant has faced included racism, helping fuel the January 6 riot, compliance in maid abuse, and selling user information on to advertisers.