Facebook, the Social Network Old-timer, Turns 20

In this file photo from August 11, 2019, an iPhone displays the apps for Facebook and Messenger in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
In this file photo from August 11, 2019, an iPhone displays the apps for Facebook and Messenger in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
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Facebook, the Social Network Old-timer, Turns 20

In this file photo from August 11, 2019, an iPhone displays the apps for Facebook and Messenger in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
In this file photo from August 11, 2019, an iPhone displays the apps for Facebook and Messenger in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Founded 20 years ago as a simple hangout spot for young people, Facebook has since become a battle-hardened behemoth that -- despite perceptions of being for boomers and parents -- continues growing and growing.
"I will never forget the day that I ran up to my high school's Mac lab and signed up for Facebook," Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg told AFP.
"You simultaneously felt that you were part of this small, exclusive community where your parents, grandparents and teachers weren't -- but also part of something much larger."
Launched as thefacebook.com by Mark Zuckerberg and three friends on February 4, 2004, the site was originally restricted to Harvard College students.
It became available to students at other US universities before opening to anyone in 2006.
Facebook became a venue for connecting with just about anyone, anywhere and by 2023 reported being used by more than 3 billion people monthly -- a three percent growth over the previous year.
"Facebook, when it launched, was revolutionary," Enberg said.
"It's hard to overstate the impact that Facebook has had on shaping everything from pop culture to politics to how we behave online."
She noted Facebook's famous "feed" that served up photos, comments, or other "posts" its algorithm figured would grab the attention of users.
The more users engaged with the social network the more it could serve up money-making ads targeted using the vast amount of information people shared at Facebook.
It is credited with having helped open the door for content to "go viral" and fueled the trend of online-only news outlets.
Ad behemoth
Facebook gained a reputation for buying or copying potential rivals, now boasting a "family" of apps including Instagram and WhatsApp.
Zuckerberg, who still heads the company, stuck to a strategy of investing heavily to gain users before integrating money-making methods that usually involved targeted ads.
Along with Google, Facebook became an online advertising giant.
In 2022 -- a bad year for the Silicon Valley-based company -- its profits reached $23 billion.
The platform "is part of the digital landscape", particularly for "millennials" born in the 1980s or 1990s, according to Enberg.
"It remains irresistible to advertisers, thanks to its reach and performance," the analyst said of Facebook.
A business model built on using people's personal data to offer more attention-grabbing content and targeted ads has earned Facebook complaints and fines.
Fresh off accusations that Russia used the platform to try to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, it became embroiled in the Cambridge Analytica data-harvesting scandal.
In 2021, it came under fire over whistleblower accusations that executives put profit over the safety and well-being of users.
Despite it all, Facebook has continued to grow.
And the tech titan's expansion has allowed it to invest in innovations including artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
Facebook changed its parent company name to "Meta" in late 2021, saying it was due to Zuckerberg's vision of immersive, virtual worlds referred to as the "metaverse" being the next major computing platform.
'My mom's friends'
"We might be less engaged, but we haven't walked away because there really isn't an alternative," Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi said of the staying power of the aging social network.
Facebook has also struck a chord with the addition of "groups" that lets users create communities around common interests like sports, celebrities or farming that connect online but also in the real world.
Also popular are marketplace features that let people buy or sell items.
"I went on Facebook because I knew my mom's friends would be interested," 18-year-old California babysitter Ruby Hammer said of using the social network to make money.
"And also, Marketplace, because I'm looking for a car."
Hammer connects with peers by sharing photos on SnapChat and Instagram, not on Facebook.
Analyst Enberg called buying Instagram in 2012 as part of a pivot to smartphone lifestyles one of the best business decisions made by Facebook.
The move eliminated a rival, provided a new forum for ads, and appealed to younger internet users losing interest in Facebook.
"Above all, it gives the company an app to rival Snapchat and TikTok", which are ultra-popular with teenagers," according to Enberg.
Today, more than half of Facebook users are between the ages of 18 and 34 years old, according to online insights company DataReportal.
But how engaged users are with the social network remains difficult to gauge.
"I go to Facebook very little, but what I post on Instagram automatically appears on Facebook too," said analyst Milanesi.
"So, I'm certainly counted as 'active'... The figures may not reflect reality."



Impostor Uses AI to Impersonate Rubio and Contact Foreign and US Officials

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
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Impostor Uses AI to Impersonate Rubio and Contact Foreign and US Officials

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

The State Department is warning US diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates.

The warning came after the department discovered that an impostor posing as Rubio had attempted to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a US senator and a governor, according to the July 3 cable, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

The recipients of the scam messages, which were sent by text, Signal and voice mail, were not identified in the cable, a copy of which was shared with The Associated Press.

“The State Department is aware of this incident and is currently investigating the matter,” it said. “The department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents.”

It declined to comment further due to “security reasons” and the ongoing investigation.

One of the officials said the hoaxes had been unsuccessful and “not very sophisticated.” Nonetheless, the second official said the department deemed it “prudent” to advise all employees and foreign governments, particularly as efforts by foreign actors to compromise information security increase.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“There is no direct cyber threat to the department from this campaign, but information shared with a third party could be exposed if targeted individuals are compromised,” the cable said.

The FBI warned in a public service announcement this past spring of a “malicious text and voice messaging campaign” in which unidentified “malicious actors” have been impersonating senior US government officials.

The scheme, according to the FBI, has relied on text messages and AI-generated voice messages that purport to come from a senior US official and that aim to dupe other government officials as well as the victim’s associates and contacts.

It is the second high-level Trump administration official to face such AI-driven impersonation.

The government was investigating after elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures received messages from someone impersonating President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Text messages and phone calls went out from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles’ personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported in May.

Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles, which may have been generated by artificial intelligence, according to the newspaper. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles’ number, the report said.