YouTube, Meta Reverse Course on "Musk" Trailer Ad

Following an outcry over the potential suppression of an advertisement, YouTube and Meta are reversing course on a trailer ad for an Elon Musk documentary. Bleecker Street, the studio behind Alex Gibney's upcoming "Musk," will be allowed to purchase an advertisement for the trailer after all, a YouTube spokesperson told Steven Zeitchik of The Hollywood Reporter.

Alex Gibney's "Musk"examines Elon Musk's business and political activities.

"The trailer was temporarily restricted by our system. Following review, the ad has been cleared to run," YouTube said.

A Meta spokesperson similarly told The Hollywood Reporter that the decision to reject the advertisement "was an error" and that the company was restoring the ads.

The reversals followed a report that YouTube, Meta, TikTok and X had initially refused to allow Bleecker Street to run a paid advertisement for the trailer. The trailer was released Thursday ahead of the film's Oct. 9 release.

Meta's reversal came after the company had previously rejected an appeal by Bleecker Street.

Gibney's film examines Musk's career and his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink, as well as his role in controlling discourse on X and his involvement in the US government's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The documentary also examines Musk's growing political influence.

A YouTube spokesperson said the advertisement should begin appearing soon. At the time of The Hollywood Reporter's initial report, however, Bleecker Street had not yet been informed of the change.