Influential people who have had a huge impact on the world tend to have their beginnings publicized. It shows where they started and how they got to where they are, and that's what "The Social Network" showed about Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Intending to show where Facebook is now, a follow-up is in the works.
A Movie About the Capitol Attack
From a mall concept that began with a Harvard undergrad in his dorm room, Facebook is now one of the biggest social networking sites. It earned over $1.3 billion in 2023 and continues to grow every year. However, its success does not mean the company is not cleared of any alleged wrongdoing.
Aaron Sorkin, the writer for the movie that put Mark Zuckerberg's early days on the screen, is working on a follow-up script to "The Social Network" to exhibit the significant role of Facebook now, particularly about the attack on the US Capitol that claimed five lives.
During a podcast episode of "The Town," Sorkin announced that he is creating a script for the follow-up, but only provided very limited details about it. According to Engadget, the writer blames the social media platform for the riots that transpired on January 6th.
Sorkin didn't exactly elaborate on why he does, and he told the host that they would have to "buy a movie ticket" to find out. Still, it's hard to deny the fact that his beliefs aligned with the lawmakers' accusations towards Facebook.
Authorities said that Facebook did not handle the "Stop the Steal" movement correctly, as it was organized within the site. The company was accused of only taking action and acknowledging the danger after the riots had already done damage.
On top of that, whistleblower Frances Haugen also revealed Facebook knew its algorithms promoted harmful content as it "failed to deploy internally recommended or lasting countermeasures," adding that it chose profits over safety.
Sorkin expressed that Facebook is promoting "divisive" material since this is what drives engagement. He added that "there's supposed to be a constant tension at Facebook between growth and integrity. There isn't. There's just growth."
What Happened on January 6th?
Three years ago on the 6th of January, Washington D.C. was attacked by a mob of people who supported the former US President Donald Trump, which was two months after he lost the election for presidency.
While the attempts to put Trump back in the presidential seat were unsuccessful, the riot led to many being injured, with around 174 police officers included. There were five casualties in the attack as well as damages that caused millions, as per Britannica.
One of the significant factors that led to the insurrection was Trump's continuous insinuation that the opposing party was cheating. Other than insisting that he won the election, Trump also said that the counting of absentee ballots was a "fraud on the American people."
This motivated the creation of the Facebook group "Stop the Steal," which amassed about 320,000 members in less than 24 hours. The group continued to peddle conspiracy theories even after the group was deleted.
