TikTok has permanently banned the advertising account for the documentary "Musk," a four-hour film about Elon Musk directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney. The platform informed the documentary’s distributor, Bleecker Street, that the suspension was due to the account’s political content. TikTok has not publicly commented on the decision.
Prior to TikTok’s ban, the documentary’s ads faced initial rejection from Meta and YouTube. Meta later allowed the ads, attributing the earlier rejection to an error. Meanwhile, X, the social media platform owned by Musk, has declined to run advertisements for the film.
The documentary’s international distributor, Universal, had reportedly hesitated on releasing the film but has since decided to proceed. "Musk" had a limited theatrical release in four theaters last weekend and is expanding to more locations. It is scheduled to stream on HBO next year, a network now under Paramount/Skydance leadership, which is connected to Larry Ellison, a partial owner of TikTok’s U.S. operations and a known supporter of former President Donald Trump.
The controversy surrounding the documentary’s promotion highlights ongoing challenges filmmakers face when advertising politically sensitive content on major social media platforms.