Meta has said it will run paid advertising for Alex Gibney's upcoming documentary about Elon Musk, after a report that it had refused. A Meta spokesperson said: "This was an error and the ads are being restored."
The Hollywood Reporter reported on Friday that TikTok, Meta, YouTube and X had all declined to run paid ads promoting the trailer for "Musk". Meta, TikTok and YouTube reportedly rejected the ad on grounds of "political content", which the platforms restrict in various ways. It is not clear how a documentary trailer counts as campaign advertising, and the film's US distributor, Bleecker Street, said it is appealing the rejections.
X's rejection was described as unsurprising, given that Musk owns the platform and recently posted that "Dogshit is worth more respect than Gibney."
"Musk" premiered at the Venice International Film Festival earlier this month and has received almost universally positive reviews, holding a 100% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It is set for theatrical release in the United States on 9 October.
The Hollywood Reporter also said Universal Pictures was wavering in its commitment to distribute the film internationally, reportedly due to fear of angering the Trump administration. Universal subsequently said it will release the documentary in theatres but is still working out its release strategy.