The Social Reckoning's Most Controversial Scene Might Be The Worst Of 2026

Log off if you haven't seen "The Social Reckoning." Spoilers to follow.

In general, "The Social Reckoning," Aaron Sorkin's wholly unnecessary follow-up to an actually good movie, "The Social Network," is sweaty, desperate, and heavy-handed. Its final scene, though, takes those adjectives to a whole new level, and its treatment of a very real and extraordinarily staggering moment in American history is probably the worst thing you'll see in any movie in 2026. I reviewed the film for /Film's sister site Looper and am on record calling it a strong contender for the worst film of the year, and /Film's Chris Evangelista didn't write a glowing review of the movie either. Still, even if you disagree and liked at least some of "The Social Reckoning," a film about the wrongdoing behind the scenes at Facebook from 2019 to 2021, I need you to be realistic and admit that recreating the January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol is simultaneously gross and really, really dumb.

Throughout its clunky narrative, "The Social Network" tries to marry two stories. One focuses on employee-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison, dreadfully miscast) and her work with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White, doing his level best with cruddy material) to expose the fact that Facebook is knowingly making its users angrier and more deranged, leading them into extremist groups ... like, perhaps, extremist groups that would stage an insurrection. Elsewhere, you've got Jeremy Strong's take on Mark Zuckerberg as he prepares for Senate hearings over Facebook, all of which builds to Frances's own official testimony — and, yes, the events of January 6, 2021.

First of all, I feel obligated to point out that I am writing this in October 2026. The January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol took place in 2021. We are barely five years out from this ordeal, and I don't know about you, but when I go to the movies, I like to escape my present circumstances just a little bit. What I don't like to do is relive the time period between 2019 and January 6, 2021, which was a famously pretty bad time for just about everybody.

Even if you disagree with me on principle here, there's still the fact that recreating the insurrection is just ... hack behavior. As a reminder, the insurrection occurred as Congress attempted to certify the election for President Joe Biden amidst an uproar that was stoked by the election's loser, Donald Trump, who insisted the election was "rigged." (Trump, who was elected to a second term as President as a result of the 2024 election, has stuck to his proverbial guns and continues repeating that the election was illegitimate and rigged, though that claim has been repeatedly and thoroughly debunked.) Supporters of Trump then stormed the United States Capitol and broke windows, grievously injured Capitol police officers, and disgraced the building, which is sacred to this country's democracy. ("Disgraced" is not me editorializing; human feces were smeared on walls, desks, and other surfaces.)

The reason this comes up in "The Social Reckoning" is that Trump continued posting to his social media accounts, including Facebook, during the riots ... and Mark Zuckerberg didn't immediately remove his posts. This is a stupid inclusion, but wait! It gets stupider!

While Frances bravely testifies in front of Congress after the insurrection (she notes to Jeff that some of the building's carpeting had to be replaced due to bloodstains), we're treated to a fully recreated depiction of January 6, including the vicious attacks on police officers. There's one inclusion in this scene, though, that will elicit groans, not gasps. During the movie's prologue, we watch a scene where a young woman played by Portia Doubleday, waiting by the side of the road clearly intoxicated next to the car she claims is overheating, is approached by two cops of color. The set-up for this scene is ridiculous — she's just standing there on the phone — but it devolves into self-parody when the woman starts filming the cops and claiming that she's only in trouble because she's "white." This video makes it onto Facebook and alarms Frances, who tells Jeff that she knew the girl as a leftist before she was radicalized by social media ... but that's not the last we see of this character, unfortunately!

That's right: That girl is doing January 6 as the movie ends. Do you get it?! She got so radicalized by Facebook that she committed crimes at the United States Capitol! Sorkin has been accused of preachy writing before, but I have to say, this takes the cake in ways I truly never expected. Even if you agree with Sorkin's overarching point here ("social media bad"), I think we can all agree the film would have been better off if he were slightly more subtle. 

"The Social Reckoning" is in theaters now.