Aaron Sorkin Directs 'The Social Network' Sequel With Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White

Aaron Sorkin is directing a sequel to The Social Network, with Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White in talks for key roles. The film will focus on Facebook's harmful impact and internal research, exploring the company's role in spreading misinformation and political unrest. Madison will reportedly play whistleblower Frances Haugen, while White will play journalist Jeff Horwitz. The project is being developed at Sony Pictures and aims to examine corporate accountability and journalistic investigation in the digital age.

Meta's algorithmic "War on News," which aimed to deprioritize news and political content, has had significant implications for news visibility on the platform. A recent study [1] analyzed data from 40 news organizations and 21 non-news pages between January 1, 2016, and February 13, 2025, revealing that user reactions to news declined by 78% between 2021 and 2024, while reactions to non-news pages increased. This suggests a targeted suppression of news visibility, particularly for low-quality sources.

The study found that the 2025 end to the "War on News" led to an increase in user reactions to news, especially low-quality sources. This change did not reflect a decrease in news supply, user base, or interest in news, indicating that algorithmic decisions significantly influenced user engagement with news content.

The study also examined whether algorithmic changes primarily affected untrustworthy sources or all news pages, regardless of their trustworthiness and quality. The findings suggest that while low-quality sources were especially suppressed, high-quality news organizations also experienced reduced visibility.

Furthermore, the study isolated the influence of algorithms by controlling for changes in news supply and user engagement with other content. This allowed researchers to attribute changes in news visibility to algorithmic changes rather than other factors.

The study's findings are particularly relevant given the ongoing development of a sequel to "The Social Network," directed by Aaron Sorkin. The film is set to focus on Facebook's harmful impact and internal research, exploring the company's role in spreading misinformation and political unrest. The project aims to examine corporate accountability and journalistic investigation in the digital age, highlighting the importance of understanding the impact of algorithmic changes on news dissemination.

References:

[1] https://arxiv.org/html/2507.19373v1