X Rejects Trailer Ads for Documentary Critical of Elon Musk

Social media platform X (formerly Twitter), owned by Elon Musk, has reportedly refused to run paid advertisements for the trailer of a documentary that takes a critical look at Musk.

According to U.S. tech media outlet TechCrunch and entertainment publication The Hollywood Reporter on the 27th (local time), X rejected paid advertising for director Alex Gibney's documentary film "Musk," which is scheduled for release next month.

In addition to refusing ads for the film "Musk," X also rejected advertisements for other films from the movie's distributor, Bleecker Street.

After the film—which was invited to the Venice Film Festival, one of the world's top three film festivals—was unveiled, Musk lashed out on his X account with crude criticism, stating, "Dog crap deserves more respect than Gibney."

Meta and YouTube had also initially rejected ad placements for the documentary citing reasons such as it being political content, but later reversed their decisions after controversy grew.

Meta stated regarding its previous decision to block the trailer ads, "This action was an error, and we are currently restoring the advertisements."

YouTube also announced via its official X account, "It was temporarily restricted by our system when submitted as an ad, but following a review, the ad placement has been approved," explaining that the previous block was due to a system error.

Meanwhile, other social media platforms, including TikTok, continue to reject trailer ads for the documentary, citing policies regarding political content.

The documentary "Musk," which has a running time approaching four hours, covers Musk's childhood, private life, allegations of X algorithm manipulation, activities in the Donald Trump administration, ties to far-right political factions, and contradictory or exaggerated statements.

Director Gibney, who directed the documentary, described Musk as an "extremely dangerous person."

On the other hand, Musk dismissed the film, saying, "They just gathered people who hold a grudge against me," and raised conspiracy theories that it was produced under the manipulation of Democratic-leaning billionaire George Soros.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.