Emails revealed during an FTC trial show Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s deep worries about Facebook’s cultural decline, with friend-based networking losing steam in an era dominated by influencers and short-form content.
April 18, 2025: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been privately expressing concern over Facebook’s declining cultural relevance, as revealed in internal emails presented during the FTC’s antitrust trial against Meta.
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In messages exchanged with Facebook’s head Tom Alison in April 2022, Zuckerberg candidly admitted that while apps like Instagram and WhatsApp are thriving, Meta’s long-term success hinges on Facebook staying relevant. “Even though the FB app’s engagement is steady in many places, it feels like its cultural relevance is decreasing quickly,” he wrote.
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Zuckerberg pinpointed a major reason: the “friending” model—once the cornerstone of Facebook—now feels outdated. “A lot of people’s friend graphs are stale and not filled with the people they want to hear from,” he added, contrasting Facebook’s approach with “following” models used by Instagram and Twitter, which appeal more to today’s users and creators.
The Meta boss even floated a radical fix: wipe out people’s entire friend networks and start fresh—a “crazy idea,” he called it. He also questioned the future of Facebook Groups, saying years of investment hadn’t yielded transformative results.
These revelations come shortly after the rollout of Facebook Reels, aimed at competing with TikTok’s short-form video dominance, signaling that Meta is still trying to pivot—but may be struggling to find its footing in the fast-evolving social media landscape.
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Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, FTC Trial, Social Media Trends, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook Reels, Friend Graphs, Cultural Relevance, Social Media Strategy, Meta Antitrust, Short-Form Video, Influencer Culture