Meta is taking its dying breaths – but Facebook’s media legacy will live on, like it or not

This one, opaque company headed up by a weird young billionaire wielded more power than any of the old media barons put together, writes Dave Maclean

Nick Clegg with Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg in Dublin after a meeting with politicians to discuss social media regulation in April 2019 (PA)

Meta is starting to look like one of those middle-aged divorced guys wearing a shiny leather jacket and driving a second-hand sports car. It’s trying to signal to the world that it’s still got it, but no one’s buying it.

The company’s Instagram app now has a candid photo challenge that looks suspiciously like hot Gen Z app BeReal; which comes shortly after IG prioritized Reels, which look suspiciously like TikTok.

Meanwhile, Facebook has faded in favor of Mark Zuckerberg’s VR moonshot, but even that looked unimpressive in the CEO’s promo post.