Fueled by strength from its AI agent Muse, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) has been one of the best performing large-cap stocks in the last month, with shares up 21%. That momentum is now under scrutiny as a big-screen movie portrays the company and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in anything but a positive light.
Meta, Zuckerberg Get Big Screen Treatment
A sequel that’s not a sequel to the 2010 film "The Social Network" hits theaters this weekend. The film titled "The Social Reckoning" includes some of the same people from the 2010 film, while seeing Jeremy Strong take over the role of Zuckerberg.
While the last film focused on Facebook’s origins and power struggles between Zuckerberg and other co-founders, "The Social Reckoning" highlights leaks from a former employee and whistleblower that were part of a 2021 Wall Street Journal report known as "The Facebook Files."
From Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY), "The Social Reckoning" could have a big impact on the public’s perception of Meta and Zuckerberg.
"The Social Reckoning is an even bigger burn on Mark Zuckerberg than you think," The Hollywood Reporter writes. "Aaron Sorkin’s film takes on the sitting mogul in a way Hollywood rarely attempts."
As highlighted by The Hollywood Reporter, even the film’s advertisements have taken Meta head-on with ads like "Mark Zuckerberg will love The Social Reckoning" that aren’t fact-checked, because Instagram doesn’t fact-check its ads.
Character actor Strong may make it even harder for the public to like Zuckerberg, portraying the CEO as arrogant, emotionally limited, and someone who never smiles.
The film could also put "The Facebook Files" back in the spotlight, stories many have forgotten or weren’t old enough to remember. The film uses real lines from testimony, like accusing Facebook of "buying its profits with our safety."
Zuckerberg the Antihero
"The Social Reckoning" director Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the screenplay for this film and "The Social Network," said the first film likely split viewers.
Sorkin told The Hollywood Reporter that some viewed the first film as a cautionary tale, while others saw it as an inspirational story about a man who dropped out of college and became a billionaire.
Sorkin stops short of calling Zuckerberg a villain.
"He’s making bad decisions that are hurting us," Sorkin said. "But in dramatist terms, he’s not a villain. He’s an antihero."
As an antihero, Sorkin says Zuckerberg’s intentions are good in wanting to connect everybody in the world, but the methods to get there are bad.
Zuckerberg has criticized "The Social Network" in the past, noting that while the film’s details about clothing are precise, other details are wrong.
“The Social Reckoning” lands in the middle of a strong run for Meta, with shares up 21% over the past month.
Photo: Mark Zuckerberg via shutterstock
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