YouTube’s War on Moore’s ‘Planet of the Humans’ Isn’t Over
Is the mainstream media finally waking up to Big Tech censorship?
Conservatives argue the only way for Cancel Culture to come tumbling down is for liberals to feel its bite, too.
And they may have a point, according to Newsweek.
Cancel Culture’s cousin, Big Tech censorship, recently knocked on far-left filmmaker Michael Moore’s door. Moore produced “Planet of the Humans,” a film excoriating the green movement along with former Vice President Al Gore.
The film doesn’t deny climate change exists or that it won’t savage the planet. It argues the green groups fighting it either aren’t doing enough or lust for profit as much as a healthier planet. That incendiary take caused Moore’s liberal allies to condemn both him and the film.
Moore (“Sicko,” “Capitalism: A Love Story”) released the movie on YouTube for free, meaning anyone across the globe could watch it at their leisure.
Filmmaker Josh Fox of “Gasland” fame led a movement to have “Planet of the Humans” removed from YouTube.
Because we actually have a cure for the fossil fuel pandemic—the Green New Deal and renewable energy. But instead of advocating this cure, Michael Moore wants you to join the doomsday death cult and drink the fracked Kool-Aid of the fossil fuel industry.
It worked, temporarily.
YouTube pulled the film, citing copyright infringement. Conservatives actually rallied to Moore’s side during the fight, agreeing with his right to be heard (if not necessarily the message).
The film stayed in limbo for days but Moore’s team removed the seconds-long video that sparked the copyright matter. It took time, but “Planet of the Humans” returned to YouTube.
The story doesn’t end there, though.
The far-left Hollywood Reporter noted this week that several documentary films suffered similar woes.
The removal of Planet of the Humans wasn’t an isolated event. Over the past year, a number of docs that seem to challenge the business interests of multinational conglomerates have been muzzled, buried or simply neglected — including ones from Oscar winners and nominees like Moore. In nearly every case, the distributor was a Silicon Valley tech giant [emphasis added].
The outlet even name checked Mike Cernovich’s “Hoaxed.” That documentary, chronicling extreme media bias, got yanked from Amazon’s video platform sans reason. The film enjoyed a considerable boost in sales following Amazon’s decision.
THR saves the more important news, though, for the final sentences of the story. It’s called “burying the lede” in journalism circles regarding Big Tech censorship.
But in one final bizarre twist, YouTube algorithms appear to have at least temporarily buried Planet of the Humans for viewers looking to locate it via the platform’s main search engine. For at least a week in late June, the top hits by title search included content that purports to debunk the film but not the doc itself on Moore’s channel. The filmmakers alerted YouTube of the problem. Says a publicist for the film, “They replied and said they would look into it. There has been no other update.” But the night before this story was being readied for publication, the issue appears to have been resolved.
Conservatives have been arguing against Big Tech censorship for some time now. Tactics like Twitter shadowbanning reduce the impact right-leaning voices have on the platform. The indefatigable James O’Keefe routinely promotes whistleblowers to share how Facebook crushes conservative voices via his Project Veritas outfit.
Undercover videos indicate that some Facebook content moderators actively focus on posts that are supportive of President Donald Trump, revealing political bias in the company’s policing efforts.
In addition, one former moderator, Zach McElroy, indicated that at least one Facebook algorithm seemed designed to flag predominantly right-leaning content.
Most media outlets have either downplayed or ignored this disturbing trend. Should more voices on the Left suffer similar treatment the subject may finally get the attention it deserves. And conservatives might be able to thank Moore, of all people, for that trend.