Sony Pictures has found an unusual way to promote its latest film, The Social Reckoning — by taking a direct jab at Mark Zuckerberg on Instagram, a platform owned by the Meta chief executive’s company.
The promotional video features actor , who portrays Zuckerberg in the film, alongside the message, “Mark Zuckerberg will LOVE The Social Reckoning (sic).” The apparent compliment quickly turns into a dig when the asterisk reveals the punchline: “Instagram doesn’t fact-check most ads. Why should we? (sic).”
According to Fortune, the advertisement cuts between scenes of Strong as , including a shot of the character wearing headphones and looking concerned. The clip ends with him asking, “Did you know this was happening?” before the film’s title appears.
The film’s official account added another pointed remark in its caption: “Let’s see how long it takes them to take this down.”
The campaign uses humour to challenge ‘s approach to advertising policies and content moderation while drawing attention to the film’s central themes.
The advertisement also recalls Zuckerberg’s criticism of , the 2010 film written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher. The movie dramatised Facebook’s founding at and the legal disputes that followed.
During a public question-and-answer session in 2014, Zuckerberg acknowledged that some details were accurate but objected to the portrayal of his motivations.
He said the filmmakers had “just kind of made up a bunch of stuff that I found kind of hurtful”, particularly the suggestion that he created to attract women. The comments were reported by Fortune and The Times of India.
More than a decade later, Sorkin has returned to the subject with The Social Reckoning. describes the film as a companion piece to the original rather than simply a direct sequel.
The new film shifts attention to Facebook’s later controversies, particularly the disclosures made by former employee in 2021.
Haugen leaked internal company documents to and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, raising concerns about the platform’s impact and the company’s handling of harmful content.
Mikey Madison plays Haugen, while Jeremy Allen White portrays journalist Jeff Horwitz. Strong takes over the role of Zuckerberg, previously played by Jesse Eisenberg.
The campaign’s reference to fact-checking also reflects Meta’s January 2025 decision to end its third-party fact-checking programme in the and move towards a Community Notes-style system.
By placing its advertisement on Instagram itself, Sony has turned the platform into part of the promotion, making Meta’s own policies central to the film’s marketing.
