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Two companies now say they will accept advertising for director Alex Gibney\u2019s upcoming documentary about Elon Musk, following earlier reporting that a number of social media platforms had rejected the ads.<\/p>\n
The Hollywood Reporter published a story Friday<\/a> saying that TikTok, Meta, YouTube, and X had all refused to run paid ads promoting the trailer for \u201cMusk.\u201d <\/p>\n However, when TechCrunch reached out to Meta on Saturday, a spokesperson said, \u201cThis was an error and the ads are being restored.\u201d We\u2019ve asked Meta for more details and will update this article if we hear back.<\/p>\n YouTube also posted an update Saturday<\/a>, noting that \u201cthe trailer has always been available on YouTube.\u201d (Indeed, that\u2019s how we were able embed it at the end of this article.) The company added, \u201cWhen submitted as an ad, it was temporarily restricted by our system. Following review the ad has been cleared to run.\u201d<\/p>\n X\u2019s rejection is unsurprising \u2014 Musk, who owns the social media platform, recently posted<\/a> that \u201cDogshit is worth more respect than Gibney.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But Meta, TikTok, and YouTube reportedly rejected the ad for \u201cpolitical content,\u201d which the platforms have various restrictions on. (Meta said last year that it will stop accepting political ads in the European Union<\/a>, while TikTok says it doesn\u2019t run them at all<\/a>.) It\u2019s not clear how a documentary trailer<\/a> counts as campaign advertising, and the film\u2019s U.S. distributor Bleecker Street told the Hollywood Reporter that it\u2019s appealing the rejections.<\/p>\n Gibney has directed acclaimed documentaries including \u201cGoing Clear\u201d (about the Church of Scientology) and \u201cThe Inventor\u201d (about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos), as well as a movie about Steve Jobs<\/a>. \u201cMusk,\u201d his latest, premiered at the Venice International Film Festival earlier this month and has received almost universally positive reviews<\/a>. The film currently has a 100% \u201cfresh\u201d rating on Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> and is set for theatrical release in the United States on October 9.<\/p>\n Vulture\u2019s Bilge Ebiri described the nearly four-hour documentary<\/a> as a revealing look at Musk\u2019s tech career, his alliance with President Donald Trump, and his personal life, with interview subjects including ex-wife Justine Musk and former right-wing influencer Ashley St. Clair (who recently had a child with Musk but now describes him as \u201ca nuke\u201d).<\/p>\n Ebiri wrote that while the film is a \u201cfascinating\u201d character study, adding, \u201cAs a tale of modern business, it\u2019s revealing. And as a warning about our future, it\u2019s terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the initial wave of critical acclaim, The Hollywood Reporter also said<\/a> that Universal Pictures was wavering in its commitment to distribute the film internationally, reportedly due to the studio\u2019s fear of angering the Trump administration. (Universal subsequently said it will release the documentary in theaters<\/a> but is still figuring out its release strategy).<\/p>\n TechCrunch has also reached out to TikTok, X, and Bleecker Street for comment.<\/p>\n This post has been updated to include YouTube\u2019s statement that it has cleared the ad.<\/em><\/p>\n \n