After garnering 8.3 millions of views on its platform, Google’s Ministry of Censorship removed Michael Moore and Jeff Gibbs controversial documentary film Planet of Humans from the YouTube. The filmmakers are calling the ban a “blatant act of censorship.”
Spokespersons from YouTube are claiming the cancellation of the film was due to an alleged copyright claim over a four second clip contained in the film.
The film was an instant indy hit after it was released last month on the eve of Earth Day, and lifts the lid on one of the ‘Green Energy’ movement’s most embarrassing secrets hidden in plain sight, namely the fact that it’s not very green at all and that the hype surrounding the movement is largely a creation of Wall Street and the fossil fuel industry. The expose was a devastating blow to the liberal elites and their progressive left-wing political parties who have traditionally relied on the green energy and climate issues in order to attract voters.
Regarding Google’s censorship, director Gibbs told Deadline Live:
“This attempt to take down our film and prevent the public from seeing it is a blatant act of censorship by political critics of Planet of the Humans …. It is a misuse of copyright law to shut down a film that has opened a serious conversation about how parts of the environmental movement have gotten into bed with Wall Street and so-called ‘green capitalists.’ There is absolutely no copyright violation in my film.”
The report went on to explain how the opponents of the film were able to game YouTube’s dubious copyright claim system in order to get the film taken down:
The four-second clip subject to the copyright right claim comes 37 minutes into the documentary, in a sequence titled “How Solar Panels & Wind Turbines Are Made.” The footage shows a mining operation for rare earth metals, which are used in wind turbine manufacture. Gibbs says he incorporated the footage under “fair use,” an exception to copyright law that allows news reporters, producers and documentary filmmakers limited access to copyrighted material to illustrate points.
British environmental photographer Toby Smith tweeted over the weekend that he shot the footage in question for an unrelated documentary project. In a since-deleted post to his verified Twitter account, Smith dismissed Planet of the Humans as “bull-shit” and suggested it was filled with “endless” copyright infringements in addition to his own material. He told a British publication it was he who filed the copyright infringement claim with YouTube.
YouTube automatically notifies content creators of any copyright infringement accusation lodged against them and provides a dispute adjudication process. A representative for Moore and Gibbs confirmed the filmmakers formally contacted YouTube to deny the infringement claim, citing fair use.
In the meantime, Moore and Gibbs have reposted the film on Vimeo streaming platform.
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