Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once contemplated a radical measure: deleting every Facebook user’s friends list to revitalize the platform’s cultural relevance. The surprising revelation surfaced as evidence during the first day of the U.S. government’s antitrust trial against Meta.
In an internal message from 2022, Zuckerberg outlined the unconventional strategy as “potentially crazy,” suggesting completely wiping users’ friend connections and prompting them to rebuild their social networks from scratch. The core idea behind this strategy was to rekindle user engagement by forcing users to actively reconnect on the platform, thereby rejuvenating Facebook’s appeal and relevance.
However, the controversial proposal encountered resistance within the company, notably from Facebook’s head at the time, Tom Alison. Due to these internal objections, the plan was ultimately abandoned.
Court documents further disclosed that Zuckerberg had explored alternative approaches to invigorate Facebook—including transitioning the platform away from a friends-based model to one emphasizing a follower-centric approach. This plan, too, was never enacted.
More recently, Facebook has refocused its efforts towards its original friends-based ethos. A newly redesigned Friends tab has been introduced highlighting friend interactions exclusively, such as posts, reels, stories, birthdays, and pending friend requests, aiming to recreate the nostalgic “OG Facebook” experience for users.
During Meta’s Q4 2024 earnings call, Zuckerberg emphasized his ambition for Facebook to regain broader cultural influence. “I think there are a lot of opportunities to make [Facebook] way more culturally influential than it is today,” he said, adding that he saw potential in rediscovering the platform’s original purpose and identity.
