Entertainment26 September, 20262 min read
Bleecker Street Says YouTube, TikTok, Meta, and X Blocked Ads for Alex Gibney’s Musk
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YouTube, TikTok, Meta platforms, and X refused to run paid ads for Gibney's Musk. Hollywood Reporter reported platform-wide ad bans ahead of the film's October release.
Platforms block Musk trailer
Bleecker Street said it has been blocked from buying trailer ads for Alex Gibney’s four-hour documentary Musk on YouTube, TikTok, Meta’s platforms and X. YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram and Facebook owner Meta declined to run the trailer for Musk, along with X itself.
Bleecker Street said it is continuing to appeal the rejections with YouTube, TikTok and Meta, while X refused to engage and would not accept advertising for any of its upcoming films. Alex Gibney’s documentary, which the sources describe as a four-hour look at Elon Musk, is scheduled to open in theaters on October 9.
Political content cited
Meta and TikTok told Bleecker Street representatives they rejected the trailer because of "political content," even though the trailer reportedly includes only a brief shot of a 2024 rally and a reference to the election. The Musk trailer dropped Thursday does not appear to fall in the category of the campaign advertising those bylaws were enacted to prevent.
Meta later said, "This was an error and the ads are being restored," after earlier reporting that Meta had rejected the ads. YouTube said, "Following review the ad has been cleared to run," after initially restricting the trailer when submitted as an ad.
Appeals, release, and stakes
Bleecker Street told The Hollywood Reporter that it entered an appeal with YouTube, TikTok and Meta, and it said Meta had already rejected the appeal while TikTok and YouTube were still entertaining the petitions. Bleecker Street was taken by surprise by the rejections and was internally scrambling to understand why the ad had been rejected.
Alex Gibney told a TIFF audience that he has "great concern" that Musk may not be widely seen on HBO Max, which the sources say picked up the title. The sources also say Musk premiered at the Venice International Film Festival on September 8 and that Universal Pictures was wavering internationally before later saying it would release the documentary in theaters.