is the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.
Update, October 18th: TikTok US spokesperson Mahsau Cullinane confirmed to The Verge that the ad account for the Musk doc has “been restored after an error.”
Just ahead of the wider release of Alex Gibney’s Musk documentary, TikTok has banned the film’s social media account from its platform. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film’s distributor, Bleecker Street, was informed Friday afternoon that a “permanent suspension” was imminent. Bleecker Street has not yet responded to a request for comment from The Verge.
While TikTok has no official affiliation with Elon Musk, part owner Larry Ellison appears in the film via a text message offering to help Musk fund his Twitter purchase.
Last month, YouTube, Meta, X, and TikTok all faced backlash for rejecting ads for the film. YouTube and Meta quickly reversed course, calling it an “error.” However, TikTok and X have refused to change their stance, and neither platform has allowed paid advertisements for the film.
Banning the documentary’s account, however, marks a serious escalation, and one laced with a dash of irony — shortly before the account was removed, it posted that people should see the movie “before it gets shut down.”
Correction October 18th: The third paragraph originally read that “YouTube and Google quickly reversed course.” That has been corrected to read “YouTube and Meta.”
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