A four-hour documentary about Elon Musk continues to face resistance from social media platforms, with TikTok apparently banning the film’s advertising account – although the company said on Sunday that the account was “restored after an error.”
According to a story in The Hollywood Reporter, the distributor of the documentary, Bleecker Street, was recently informed by TikTok that the account received a “permanent suspension” due to its political content.
Ads promoting the trailer for “Musk” — directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney — were initially rejected by Meta and YouTube as well, though those platforms eventually allowed the ad, with Meta blaming the rejection on “a mistake.” Gibney recently confirmed that the film’s international distributor Universal has been forced into its plans to release “Musk,” although it is now moving forward.
X, which owns Musk, refused to carry ads for “Musk.” TikTok’s US operations are partly owned by Larry Ellison – who, like Musk, has been a notable supporter of President Donald Trump.
“Musk” opened last weekend in just four theaters and is now rolling out more widely. Next year it is due to stream on HBO – now part of Paramount/Skydance and led by Ellison’s son David.
This article was originally published on Saturday, October 17th. It has been updated to reflect TikTok’s statement that the “Musk” advertising account has been restored.