After acquiring 8.3 million views on YouTube, the platform takes down Michael Moore ad Jeff Gibbs Planet of the Humans, a controversial documentary film. Filmmakers say that the removal of the documentary is a blatant act of censorship.
According to a spokesperson from YouTube, the removal of the documentary was brought by an alleged copyright claim due to a four-second clip it contained.
Planet of the Humans was an instant hit after the filmmakers released it on the eve of Earth Day. It lifted the lid that covered the Green Energy movements and revealed the secrets it hid in plain sight. The film found out that the Green Energy movements were not that green at all. In fact, the fossil fuel industry was the one behind this environmental movement. The film’s revelation was a big blow to the elites of the business industry as it showed that they use environmentally harming moves and mask it as environmentally friendly, so they could get the sympathy of people. You can avoid this kind of taking down incidence by buying views reviews.
According to Gibbs, the takedown of the documentary and the move to prevent the public from watching it is an act of censorship done by the documentary’s political critics. He added that YouTube misused the copyright law to take down a film that discussed a serious problem about green capitalists and environmental movements. Gibbs also stood firm that the film does not have any copyright violation.
Gibbs Claimed That the Clip in Question was Used Under Fair Use
The opponents of the film said that Gibbs used a four-second clip that it subjected to copyright claims. The said clip was played 37 minutes into the film. It showed a mining operation for rare metals in Inner Mongolia, China that are used to manufacture turbines. Gibbs emphasized that he added the footage under fair use. Fair use is an exception to copyright laws. It permits news reporters, documentary filmmakers, and producers to have limited access to copyrighted material.
Toby Smith, a British environmental photographer wrote a tweet where he said that the copyrighted footage was unrelated to the documentary. In the now-deleted tweet on his verified account, Smith suggested that Gibb’s film has endless copyright infringements. Smith also told a British publication that he was the one responsible for filing the copyright infringement claim to YouTube.
Once a video gets any copyright infringement accusations, YouTube promptly notifies its creator. Furthermore, Moore and Gibb’s representative confirmed that they have already contacted YouTube to deny the accusation, citing fair use.
Advocates For Free Speech Showed Support to Planet of the Humans
PEN America a group of free speech advocates showed their support to controversial film. Summer Lopez, PEN America’s senior director released a statement on April 29. According to her, those who have concerns about the film have all the rights to be heard. However, the public also has the right to see Moore and Gibb’s film and make their judgments about it.
After the documentary’s release in April, a lot of environmental advocates expressed their criticism about it. The film revealed that solar and wind power plants have the same harmful effects on the environment. The film also suggested that environmentalists are under the power of renewable energy corporations. These claims made scientists and environmentalists say that the content of the film as well the message it suggests are all misleading.
No Perfect Solution in Sight
Leah Strokes, an assistant professor at UC Santa Barbara noted that there is no perfect solution to the world’s energy challenges. However, Planet of the Humans did not tackle any solution to these energy challenges. Strokes added that the film even feeds falsehoods to its viewers. Notably, Strokes is also the author of Short-Circuiting Policy, a book that tackles about clean energy.
Furthermore, Strokes called the documentary “a gift to Big Oil.” It received a massive amount of reviews from skeptics of climate change. One of the many is the oil-funded Heartland Institute. It even created a blog on its website and called the documentary an entertaining and educational film about the lies of the green energy projects.
Planet of the YouTube Views
Planet of the Humans has already gathered distrust from the environmental circles. The Green group 350.org’s founder Bill McKibben was one of the environmentalists called out in the film. According to him, he is sure that many of those who watched the film were disheartened with what the film showed them. He also said that his work will be less effective and compromised as an effect of the film.
The controversial film was also removed from the platform Films for Action, due to copyright infringement accusations. The platform temporarily took down the video because it received a harsh letter from environmental activists, notable scientists, as well as filmmaker Josh Fox. Still, the full film can be watched on Gibb’s Vimeo account.
Veteran climate thinkers and campaigners like George Monbiot and 350.org’s Bill McKibben emphasized that Planet of the Humans have factual errors and outdated footage. It also promoted the myth that the fossil fuel industry is propagated by renewable energy. A lot of people showed their dismay on the fact that Moore, who was a left-wing filmmaker and civil rights supporter produced a film endorsed by right-wing think-tanks and climate skeptics.
Conclusion
On the official YouTube channel owned by Moore, the film that once had millions of views now shows a “Video unavailable. This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by a third party.” notice to users who try to access it. Similarly, the video’s link on the Planet of the Humans’ official page is already inaccessible. Still, the trailer clips of the film as well as other video materials related to it are still accessible.
Many people signed a letter as a petition to remove what the documentary that they said was shockingly misleading and absurd. Michael Mann, a climate scientist even saif th10at the creators of the film have done a serious case of a disservice to people and to the planet.