Aaron Sorkin wants Facebook reform, warns the ‘house is on fire’

Aaron Sorkin wants Facebook reform, warns the 'house is on fire' "The Social Reckoning" filmmaker Aaron Sorkin notes Mark Zuckerberg is "making terrible decisions" at Facebook and "things will stay this bad" until there's legal reform.

Key points

• "The Social Reckoning" (in theaters now) finds "The West Wing" creator revisiting Facebook more than a decade after the 2010 film regarding the platform's origins.
• NEW YORK – When Aaron Sorkin wrote "The Social Network, " the Oscar winner saw Mark Zuckerberg as someone "you rooted for" to a certain degree.
• "The Social Reckoning" only covers events up until 2021, and it ends with a triumphant feeling after the publication of the Facebook Files.
• "The Social Reckoning" stars Jeremy Allen White and Mikey Madison on their relationships with social media in their personal lives.
• Jeremy Strong's Zuckerberg is even colder and more uncaring in "The Social Reckoning" than Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal in the original.

NEW YORK – When Aaron Sorkin wrote "The Social Network, " the Oscar winner saw Mark Zuckerberg as someone "you rooted for" to a certain degree. But a lot can change in 16 years.

"The Social Reckoning" (in theaters now) finds "The West Wing" creator revisiting Facebook more than a decade after the 2010 film regarding the platform's origins. With that earlier movie, Zuckerberg was "a kid I could kind of identify with, " Sorkin, 65, notes. "That's when Facebook was a cool idea. That's when Facebook was a way of keeping in touch with individuals who you went to school with."

Cut to 2026, and the billionaire is "now the head of the largest media company in the world, " Sorkin notes. "And making terrible decisions."

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Those decisions are at the core of "The Social Reckoning, " which depicts whistleblower Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison) leaking internal Facebook documents to Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White), revealing that the firm was aware of ways its platform can cause harm.

Jeremy Strong's Zuckerberg is even colder and more uncaring in "The Social Reckoning" than Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal in the original. He rudely rushes an employee through an significant presentation and refuses to sacrifice even a small amount of engagement to produce the platform a healthier place. But there are glimmers of empathy: In one scene, Zuckerberg remarks he is aware of what the public thinks of him and notes his wife and children additionally have to see this hatred. So does Sorkin have sympathy for Zuckerberg?

"Yes, I do, and I have no wish to poke Mark in the eye, " he notes. "I am a father, and so I can understand that. That line is there just to remind an audience that's been looking at a particularly robotic character that is not a robot."

Sorkin was never particularly interested in returning to the subject of Facebook. But things shifted after hours of conversation with the real Haugen. This person met with Sorkin ahead of the release of her memoir. The writer began to see a story in her journey as a whistleblower.

"I met Frances Haugen in a period of epic writer's block that I was having for more than a year, " he notes. "I banged my head against the wall. I had no ideas."

But rather than create Zuckerberg a main character again, Sorkin was more interested in a journalism thriller like "All the President's Men" or "Spotlight." It wasn't even a sure thing that Zuckerberg would be in the film, and Sorkin ultimately turned him into a supporting character.

Zuckerberg is seen in a subplot where he rehearses for testimony before Congress. In one scene, he prepares to answer questions regarding Section 230, a law that states social media firms aren't liable for content posted on their platforms. This, Sorkin argues, needs to change.

"Until the owners of internet platforms are legally responsible the way the rest of us are, then there won't be a change, " he notes. "Things will stay this bad. Things will obtain worse. The house is on fire right now."

Notably, the movie went through a rigorous vetting to avoid legal action from Facebook, according to Sorkin. This person finds this ironic, given that the film explores Facebook's decision not to fact-check political ads.

Meanwhile, the studio "hired an outside law firm just to handle the legal vet on this movie – a movie about a company unwilling to do same thing, " he notes.

President Donald Trump is an significant off-screen presence in a climactic scene where he is referred to as "the president" and "him." Sorkin wrote around the name because it was "a distraction, " and he feared there would be people who "would have been with the movie that whole time, and now, 'Is it a red, blue thing?' " In another scene, Sen. Bernie Sanders is referred to only as an unnamed progressive candidate. It sorkin notes was additionally an effort to avoid dating the movie.

"I don't like things that are ripped from yesterday's headlines, " Sorkin notes. "I want them to be timeless." Mikey Madison reveals what she learned watching Jeremy Solid act.

Mikey Madison discusses what she learned and what it was like working with Jeremy Solid on "The Social Reckoning."

"The Social Reckoning" only covers events up until 2021, and it ends with a triumphant feeling after the publication of the Facebook Files. But "have things improved since then?" Sorkin asks. "No." In August, Meta reached a $16.68 billion settlement resolving claims that Facebook and Instagram are harmful to kids, but Sorkin doesn't see this as a major step forward.

"Someone who knows a lot more than I do about this stuff said it's a terrible problem that just got 3% better, " Sorkin notes. "What will create a sizeable difference is if laws are passed. The difficulty is that tech oligarchs are donating to the campaigns for the residents who would otherwise be passing those laws." Mikey Madison notes her brother dreamed of her Oscars night.

Mikey Madison recalls her brother's Oscars "premonition" coming true as they danced in the audience with Colman Domingo.

"The Social Reckoning" is arriving in theaters just less than a month before the midterms, and that timing isn't a total coincidence: Sorkin felt it was significant for the film be issued before the election.

"I didn't think we'd be in the mood if it came out in December or a year from now, " he notes. "We'd be fatigued from all of the arguing."

For context, the writer and director is "not so arrogant, " he adds, to "think I can affect an election. But I wouldn't mind if it did." Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, aaron Sorkin wants Facebook reform, warns the house is on fire is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.