The Major Social Media Platforms Are All Rejecting Paid Ads for Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ (Exclusive)

So much for free speech.The studio releasing Alex Gibney’s new Elon Musk documentary Musk is finding itself unable to buy an ad on the biggest social platforms.YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram and Facebook owner Meta are all declining to run the trailer for Musk, along with X itself, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.That last one is perhaps understandable, given its owner. But the rejection by the other platforms has taken distributor Bleecker Street by surprise, and it is internally scrambling to understand why the ad has been rejected, according to a person familiar with the company’s processes who is not authorized to talk about them publicly.The unwillingness of platforms to accept even paid advertising is sure to raise concerns about free speech and the dwindling number of companies that control many of the platforms in this country — and ironically provide a proof-text for the very point the film is coming to make. Gibney’s doc is a four-hour look at a title character who attempts to control the conversation in various ways, including with alleged suppressions on X, which he bought in 2022.

Bleecker Street opens Musk in theaters on Oct. 9.YouTube, TikTok and Meta have all supplied a reason related to “political content” to Bleecker Street reps. The latter two companies’ platforms, by policy, do not allow campaign or other political ads, in Meta’s case largely owing to fallout from the Cambridge Analytica Facebook scandal during the 2016 election. But the Musk trailer, which dropped Thursday, does not appear to fall in the category of the campaign advertising those bylaws were enacted to prevent. It simply contains a shot of a political rally in 2024 and a reference at the end to the 2024 election — the kind of flicks that occur in numerous documentaries and are hardly meant to stump for a particular candidate in an upcoming race.

The reason for YouTube’s rejection is even less clear, as the platform does allow campaign ads, albeit with “paid for” disclosures from vetted candidates.

Bleecker Street has entered an appeal with all three companies. Meta has already rejected the appeal. TikTok and YouTube are still entertaining the petitions. For its part, X has refused to engage with Bleecker Street on the film or even accept advertising for any of its other films on its upcoming calendar.Press reps at Meta, TikTok, YouTube and X did not immediately provide a comment. A Bleecker Street representative confirmed that the ads were initially rejected but said they are continuing to appeal with all three companies besides X in the hope minds can be changed.

Traction on social media is key for a documentary release, which relies on word-of-mouth in a way a big-budget feature doesn’t.

The news also hits a nerve after Universal, which is releasing the film overseas, considered backing away from distributing Musk before capitulating to public pressure and commenting that it is standing by the film (though no details have yet been given).

It is unclear if there has been any communication between ad reps at X and the other social giants. Some other tech firms will also see their leaders under the Hollywood spotlight this fall, with Sony releasing Aaron Sorkin’s Mark Zuckerberg drama The Social Reckoning next month. That film’s trailer is currently available on YouTube.