In a 2022 internal email to Meta's top executives, Zuckerberg outlined his radical proposal as "Option 1. Double down on Friending" where he suggested "wiping everyone's graphs and having them start again"12. By "graphs," he was referring to users' friend connections on Facebook2. The idea emerged as Facebook was struggling with declining popularity and cultural relevance, with Zuckerberg seeking ways to reinvigorate the platform13.

The proposal received pushback from Facebook head Tom Alison, who expressed concerns about the viability of such a drastic measure, noting it could undermine "vital friend use case" functionality, particularly on Instagram23. When questioned about this during his testimony, Zuckerberg acknowledged that the plan was never implemented, stating simply, "As far as I can tell, we never did that"2. This exchange highlighted how Facebook's purpose has evolved over its 20-year history, with Zuckerberg testifying that "the friend part has gone down quite a bit" as the platform has "turned into more of a broad discovery and entertainment space"24.

The cultural relevance crisis at Facebook represents what Zuckerberg himself identified as "the biggest threat to the company" in 20221. This decline manifests in concrete metrics, with Facebook's user base aging and younger audiences migrating to platforms they perceive as more culturally significant. Zuckerberg's desperate measures, including his "crazy idea" to wipe everyone's friend networks, emerged directly from this existential threat to the platform's relevance23.

Meta's struggle reflects broader cultural stagnation phenomena that researchers have identified in digital spaces. As Zuckerberg testified during the antitrust trial, Facebook has evolved from its original purpose of connecting friends to becoming "more of a broad discovery and entertainment space"4. This transformation represents Meta's attempt to navigate what cultural researchers identify as algorithmic culture's tendency to make it "difficult for people to develop original or unique interests," leaving users "surrounded by superabundant content, but inspired by none of it"5. The company's shift away from friendship connections toward an entertainment discovery model demonstrates its recognition that cultural relevance in social media now demands more than just connecting people who already know each other.

Facebook's recent pivot to a dedicated Friends feed represents a significant strategic shift, acknowledging what many users have felt for years. In March 2025, the platform introduced a new Friends tab that exclusively shows updates from actual friends, allowing users to "scroll like it's 2008" again1. This feature, described as one of "several 'OG' Facebook experiences" planned for release throughout the year, marks Facebook's attempt to recapture the original social networking experience that made it popular before algorithms and sponsored content dominated the platform.

The timing of this pivot is particularly notable given Zuckerberg's concurrent testimony in the FTC antitrust trial, where he admitted that Facebook is "no longer primarily about connecting with friends"23. This contradiction highlights Meta's complex strategy: while publicly acknowledging the platform's evolution away from friendship connections in legal proceedings, it's simultaneously trying to resurrect that very experience to retain users. The Friends feed rollout in the US and Canada represents Meta's recognition that despite its push toward discovery and entertainment, many users still value the core social connection function that originally defined Facebook's purpose14.