TikTok blocks paid promotion for Elon Musk documentary

TikTok has blocked a promotional account for *Musk*, a documentary about Elon Musk, after deciding that paid videos advertising the film may breach its rules on political content, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Distributor Bleecker Street has appealed the decision, Nieuws.nl reports. [1]

Bleecker Street’s other TikTok account remains active, but the company can no longer pay to promote videos on it. The distributor told The Hollywood Reporter it was “disappointed” by the timing: the film had been showing in a limited number of cinemas in New York and Los Angeles since 9 October, and expanded to more US cities on Friday. [1]

Nieuws.nl says Meta and Google had also previously refused to promote the trailer, but later reversed those decisions. TikTok has not done so. X, which is owned by Musk, is not accepting any advertising for the film, according to the report. [1]

Directed by Alex Gibney, *Musk* runs for nearly four hours and examines Musk’s businesses, actions and political activity, presenting both praise and criticism. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September and is being shown only in US cinemas. Producer Gibney has said Universal Pictures is considering whether to distribute it internationally. [1]