Aaron Sorkin's "The Social Reckoning" targets Zuckerberg and Meta ahead of 9 October release

Left · 1Aaron Sorkin, who won an Oscar for writing "The Social Network", has made a follow-up, "The Social Reckoning", which opens in theaters on 9 October. 1 Left · 1The film is inspired by the story of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, played by Mikey Madison, who in 2021 leaked thousands of internal documents to Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, played by Jeremy Allen White; Jeremy Strong plays a grown-up Mark Zuckerberg. 1 Left · 1Sorkin, who also directs, told CBS News he is revisiting the subject partly because of unintended consequences of the first film: Jesse Eisenberg, who played Zuckerberg, was distressed that teenage boys saw the character as a hero rather than a tragic hero. Sorkin said: "Of course, I'm responsible. It wasn't my intention." 1

Left · 2Sorkin said Facebook's research showed that content that makes people angry is most likely to be reshared, and that in 2018, when engagement was falling, the company tweaked its algorithm accordingly. The Hollywood Reporter says the film shows the company prioritising reshares over likes, and notes that the reporting on this is well established. 1 2 Left · 1Sorkin said the film's theme is that people are not getting the truth. He then backed away from saying people can handle it, suggesting that "Maybe we can't handle the truth" because lies are easier to believe. He linked the idea to the opening of a Broadway revival of his first script, "A Few Good Men". 1 Left · 1Asked what he would say to Zuckerberg, Sorkin replied: "You want to make the world a better place? Don't make the truth up for grabs. Don't be indifferent to the truth." Haugen, who also spoke to CBS, said she views Zuckerberg's experience as a tragedy and warned against giving him more power over AI. 1

Left · 1Meta declined to comment on the film to CBS News, and has repeatedly said it is working to stop the spread of dangerous or harmful content. CBS noted the film arrives as Meta faces billions of dollars in settlements and verdicts over claims its platforms harmed young users' mental health. 1 Left · 1The Hollywood Reporter's Steven Zeitchik, writing after the film's New York world premiere on Sunday night, described Strong's Zuckerberg as a "full-on villain", far from Eisenberg's "boyishly forgivable" version, and said the film goes even harder on Zuckerberg than Sony's marketing does. 2 Left · 1Sony Pictures released an ad, running on Instagram and Facebook, that says "Mark Zuckerberg Will Love The Social Reckoning" and then "Instagram doesn't fact-check most ads. Why should we?" According to the Hollywood Reporter, Sony released it on the day Meta settled a child-harm case brought by attorneys general, and Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki has apparently seen and liked it. 2

Left · 1The Hollywood Reporter also says Meta sent Sony a legal letter, which Sorkin characterised as "just making the studio aware that Meta has lawyers". It notes that Instagram's user base has grown 25% since Haugen's Senate testimony five years ago and that Haugen says social media "may be worse off today than when I leaked the documents". 2