YouTube takes down Michael Moore doc Planet of the Humans
David Farnor | On 27, May 2020
YouTube has taken down Michael Moore’s Planet of the Humans.
The documentary, which was made available for free last month, has already courted a sizeable amount of controversy. The eco-documentary argues the environmental movement has lost the battle to save the planet through well-meaning but disastrous choices. It criticised leaders who have taken humankind down the wrong road — selling out the green movement to wealthy interests and corporate America.
Directed by Jeff Gibbs (co-producer of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine), the film was released to coincide with Earth Day, but a month on has been removed from YouTube.
The removal was in response to a copyright infringement claim by Toby Smith, a British environmental photographer. Smith complained that four seconds of his work for an unrelated documentary had been used in a sequel called How Solar Panels & Wind Turbines Are Made without his permission. Gibbs has said that he used the footage under the “fair use” exception to copyright law, but Smith does not approve of the context in which his material has been used.
YouTube has therefore taken down the documentary.
“I went directly to YouTube rather than approaching the filmmakers because I wasn’t interested in negotiation,” Smith told The Guardian. “I don’t support the documentary, I don’t agree with its message and I don’t like the misleading use of facts in its narrative.”
Indeed, the film has been roundly condemned for being inaccurate and misleading by scientists and activists. The filmmakers, meanwhile, have responded by claiming they are victims of politically motivated censorship.
He said in a statement: “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. This is just another attempt by the film’s opponents to subvert the right to free speech.”
Planet of the Humans: Michael Moore presents eco-doc for free online
24th April 2020
Michael Moore presents Planet of the Humans, a new documentary that’s been made available for free online.
The eco-documentary argues the environmental movement has lost the battle to save the planet through well-meaning but disastrous choices. Released to coincide with Earth Day, it criticises leaders who have taken humankind down the wrong road — selling out the green movement to wealthy interests and corporate America.
Directed by Jeff Gibbs (co-producer of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine), it posits that we must get a grip on our out-of-control human presence and consumption – aiming to generate anger, debate, and a willingness to see humankind’s survival in a new way.
The film features Al Gore, Bill McKibben, Richard Branson, Robert F Kennedy Jr., Michael Bloomberg, Van Jones, Vinod Khosla, Koch Brothers, Vandana Shiva, General Motors, 350.org, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sierra Club, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Nature Conservancy and Elon Musk.
You can watch it on YouTube here: