How Facebook’s ‘metaverse’ became a political strategy in Washington

In June, before it had formally introduced the metaverse, Facebook tested the waters by hosting a “Data Dialogue” event with Washington think tanks, where Facebook executives discussed the company’s forays into more advanced technologies, including virtual reality and Oculus, and efforts to mitigate potential harms and ensure its artificial intelligence was inclusive, said Chris Riley, R Street Institute’s tech policy senior fellow, who attended the meeting.

“They’re trying to make themselves not seem like the bad guy,” Riley said.