Facebook Attacks Netflix’s ‘The Social Dilemma’ as “Distorted and Sensationalist"

Facebook isn’t happy with the way it has been depicted in “The Social Dilemma,” a Netflix documentary about the effects of the social media giant’s business practices. Of course they aren’t. A thief never accepts that he is a criminal. The bad company disagrees with being portrayed as a bad company. Shocker.

The doc has appeared in Netflix’s top 10 most popular movies and TV shows list in September and is still listed in its Trending section. During the last week of September, it crept to the number one spot among the most-watched Netflix movies, which marks the first time a documentary has ever been the most popular movie on Netflix in any given month.

The Netflix film, from director Jeff Orlowski, is a very spirited affair, but does feel overly-edited, heavy-handed, and isn’t necessarily breaking new ground in depicting the dangers of social media. That’s why I didn’t review it at the Sundance Film Festival back in January and I haven’t reviewed it since it premiered on Netflix September 9th. If you've seen literally any social media documentary before, then you'll learn nothing from this one, but it turns out that the documentary is a major hit with audiences.

Facebook is so concerned with the way it is being depicted in the documentary that it has just released a seven-point rebuttal: “We should have conversations about the impact of social media on our lives. But ‘The Social Dilemma’ buries the substance in sensationalism,” Facebook said in the document posted Friday. “Rather than offer a nuanced look at technology, it gives a distorted view of how social media platforms work to create a convenient scapegoat for what are difficult and complex societal problems.”

The documentary features interviews with former execs of Facebook, Twitter, and Google, exploring issues ranging from social media addiction to the algorithms social media and tech companies use for suggesting content and targeting ads. The movie at various points shows a fictitious family played by actors to illustrate the negative effects of social media addiction.

Facebook complained that the film’s creators “do not include insights from those currently working at the companies or any experts [who] take a different view to the narrative put forward by the film.” In addition, the company said, “The Social Dilemma” does not “acknowledge — critically or otherwise — the efforts already taken by companies to address many of the issues they raise. Instead, they rely on commentary from those who haven’t been on the inside for many years.”

“The Social Dilemma,” is currently streaming on Netflix.