TikTok restores 'Musk' account, blames error

TikTok has restored the advertising account for 'Musk', Alex Gibney's four-hour documentary about Elon Musk, after saying the suspension was an error.

A TikTok spokesperson told The Verge on Sunday, 18 October that the film's advertising account was back online, as reported by Deadline. The update reversed the position in two days. The distributor had been told the ban was permanent.

Bleecker Street, which is releasing the film with Universal, was informed on Friday that the 'Musk' TikTok account had been permanently suspended, according to Deadline. That is the paid account distributors use to run adverts and post promoted clips, a standard part of an organised cinema campaign. The notice arrived just as the film was heading into wide release, the point when a film expands from a few cinemas to many cinemas across the country.

TikTok had pointed to a repeated pattern of political content that violates its policies, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. That account was described as permanently suspended on Friday ahead of wide release, according to Variety. Sunday's statement replaced that position. The company now calls it an error.

The dispute fits a wider pattern around marketing for this film. Last month, YouTube, Instagram, Meta, TikTok and X rejected the trailer for 'Musk' over depiction of political or election content, according to Deadline. Those rejections blocked paid use of the trailer on major social platforms. Meta reversed its decision shortly after and also called it an error.

Gibney's film is a marathon look at the vast influence of billionaire Musk, as described by Reuters. The running time is four hours, according to TechCrunch. It is a Bleecker Street and Universal project.

What makes this stand out is the speed of the turnaround. A permanent suspension on Friday became an error by Sunday. For anyone following the release, the practical result is simple. The film can advertise on TikTok again.