Los Angeles: Sixteen years after The Social Network, Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook return to the screen in Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning, which examines the company’s handling of political content, hate speech and its impact on public debate.

The film centres on Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, played by Mikey Madison, and Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, portrayed by Jeremy Allen White. Their work helped lead to the publication of the Facebook Files in 2021, based on internal company documents Haugen provided.

Jeremy Strong plays Zuckerberg, replacing Jesse Eisenberg, who portrayed the Facebook founder in the 2010 film. Sorkin, who wrote The Social Network, said the new film focuses less on Zuckerberg’s motivations and more on the consequences of decisions made at Facebook.

One issue the film addresses is Facebook’s policy on fact checking political advertisements ahead of the 2020 US presidential election. The story places this within a broader examination of political polarisation and the platform’s role in distributing content.

Unlike The Social Network, which was directed by David Fincher, Sorkin directs The Social Reckoning himself. The 2010 film won three Academy Awards and followed Facebook’s creation and disputes surrounding its origins.

Sorkin described the new production as both a whistleblower and newspaper story, shifting the focus towards Haugen and Horwitz and their role in bringing Facebook’s internal documents into public view.

The film also arrives as Hollywood increasingly turns towards stories about technology companies and their executives, with projects involving figures including Sam Altman and Elon Musk also in development or production.

The Social Reckoning begins its international cinema release on Wednesday.