The Real Whistleblower Behind The Social Reckoning and the Actor Who Played Her on Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, and AI

The Social Network helped define a generation of tech founders when it premiered in 2010: Written by Aaron Sorkin, it tells the story of Facebook’s founding by an ambitious, jilted college kid who imposes his will on the world. Now, in The Social Reckoning, Sorkin focuses on the ills of the company Facebook eventually became. He tells the story through the lens of Frances Haugen, a former employee who demonstrated through a trove of internal documents, leaked to the Wall Street Journal, that Facebook’s algorithm was stoking political division, that Instagram was contributing to body-image issues for teen girls, and that the company’s platforms were being used by drug dealers and human traffickers. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has denied his company, rebranded as Meta after Haugen’s leak, prioritized profit over safety. Mikey Madison, fresh off her Oscar for Anora, plays Haugen in the film. Madison and Haugen sat with TIME for their first interview together.Mikey, you and Frances have not had the opportunity to spend a lot of time together. How much is the Frances of the film based on the real Frances? Madison: When I got the script, I knew about the Facebook Files, but I didn’t know Frances...