Sixteen years ago, viewers of “The Social Network” met the ambitious, awkward Harvard student who founded Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg’s friends and classmates were suing him, but at least the site was a huge hit. In writer Aaron Sorkin’s follow-up film, “The Social Reckoning,” the shiny promise of social networking site Facebook has lost its luster. And thanks to a whistleblower and an investigative reporter, nearly everyone is suing, including 47 attorneys general.
“The Social Reckoning” is based on the true story of “The Facebook Files,” a 2021 Wall Street Journal series based on leaked internal Facebook and Instagram research. The documents brought several negative business practices to light — that Facebook was stoking division by suggesting users like extremist groups, that it knew Instagram was harmful for teen girls and didn’t act, and that high-profile users weren’t held to the same standards as regular users. Overall, the Journal argued that the company prioritized profit over its users’ well-being.
In the movie retelling, Jeff Horwitz, played by Jeremy Allen White, is a less-than-tech-savvy investigative reporter who moves to San Francisco itching to cover Facebook. Data scientist Frances Haugen, played by Mikey Madison, is a Facebook employee who is becoming increasingly concerned about the company’s direction, especially when one of her friends becomes radicalized online. But she hesitates to cut ties with her workplace, still strongly believing in the power of social media to connect people. As Facebook’s societal harms mount and her attempts to internally reform the company fail, she finally decides to leak the incriminating files.
Meanwhile, viewers once again meet Zuckerberg in a courtroom setting, or something like it. He’s in the Facebook headquarters prepping for a Senate hearing where he’ll be grilled by elected officials. In “The Social Network,” Zuckerberg is the central figure in a cast of flawed characters whose interactions create one of the world’s most successful websites. But in “The Social Reckoning,” he’s decidedly the villain. Attempts to justify Facebook’s approach to content moderation feel halfhearted. Zuckerberg, played in this film by Jeremy Strong, is a cold, tyrannical boss wholly focused on his company’s growth.
Fans of Sorkin’s television show “The West Wing” will likely enjoy “The Social Reckoning” with a similar feel. Both workplace dramas feature an enjoyable mix of policy talk and personality, though some more techy parts of the Social Reckoning may be confusing for a layman.
The film could say more about The Facebook Files, but rather than turn into a documentary, the focus stays on the characters, the dialogue and the classic David versus Goliath tale. The film’s climax comes as Frances and Jeff work to download the last of the files before Frances’ access is revoked. At the same time, scenes from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol flash on the screen, a tragedy that the film seems to lay at Facebook’s feet.
The film’s Zuckerberg states that Facebook should be a town square, not a referee on free speech. The film’s bias, however, skews heavily toward the need for robust refereeing. As much modern life revolves around technology, perhaps everyone still needs a bit of a reckoning or an examination of conscience around society’s use of emerging technology, from social media to AI.
How to promote fairness, truth, genuine community and human flourishing in the digital world is still an open question, one that Pope Leo XIV is encouraging Catholics to grapple with. Watching the film, which is just under two hours and rated R for language, might be an easy, informative place to start.
Maraist is a freelancer from Reston.
