“Planet of the Humans” Returns From Censorship Purgatory Image

“Planet of the Humans” Returns From Censorship Purgatory

By Film Threat Staff | June 8, 2020

In a strange case of “fair use,” director Jeff Gibbs, Planet of the Humans, returns to YouTube after posting 8.3 million views on Michael Moore’s Rumble Media YouTube channel in over four weeks since its premiere on April 21, the eve of the 50th Earth Day. The film was removed from YouTube on Monday, May 25 following a coordinated censorship campaign that resulted in a claim against four seconds of footage in the movie by a claimant who stated multiple times that he opposed the message of the film.

The leading civil liberties organization for writers and artists, PEN America, defended the film twice and demanded that those behind the censorship campaign should cease their efforts to deny the filmmakers their right to freedom of expression. Although the four seconds in question legally complied with the Fair Use clause of the US Copyright Law, the filmmakers decided to take the four seconds out anyway. “Why would we want even one second in our film from anyone who believed in censorship,” said producer Ozzie Zehner.

As the saying goes, “Controversy Creates Cash.” Director Jeff Gibbs, producer Ozzie Zehner, and executive producer Michael Moore announced on Friday that the film has 300 new “distribution hosts” worldwide — tech sites, film festivals, magazines, poetry groups, environmentalists, teachers, filmmakers, young progressive organizations, and everyday average citizens — who will ensure that many millions more viewers will have the opportunity to watch the film. In an appeal sent out two days ago by Moore, asking for citizens to “join the fight against the censors” by hosting the film on their sites, he was inundated with hundreds of groups, small companies, organizations and individuals who offered to co-host the documentary by streaming it, embedding it or posting it on their websites or servers. “The response has been very heartening,” said Moore. “Having the film available now on a multiplicity of sites will make it that much harder for the people and groups we expose in this movie to take it down.”

And in response to a disinformation campaign launched by the targets of the film — environmentalists-turned eco-capitalists who have gotten into bed with Wall Street, big banks, and others profiting off of “green technology” — director Jeff Gibbs has launched the “Planet of the Humans Podcast.”

“Our movie has captured the attention of the nation and created desperately needed discussion.”

Planet of the Humans is a powerful examination of how so-called “green capitalists” have “taken over our beloved environmental movement and are causing us to lose the battle to stop the meltdown of our earthly life support systems,” according to the film’s writer and director, Jeff Gibbs. “Our movie has captured the attention of the nation and created desperately needed discussion.”

In response to the shocking new revelations in an investigative news story by journalist Matt Orfalea, Oscar®-winner Michael Moore, the executive producer, and distributor of Planet of the Humans (via his Rumble Media outfit) said: “I was very sad to see so-called progressives attempting to stifle free expression and secretly emailing allies in the movement to have the film taken down. It is disgraceful, pathetic, enraging, and cowardly. It is also contrary to the values of anyone that considers themself an artist, filmmaker, or journalist.”

The piece by Orfalea revealed previously unreported emails from filmmaker Josh Fox leading the censorship campaign within hours of the film being released. According to the article:

On April 22 at 12:41 am, Fox — now a show host at TYT, the largest online news network — told his colleagues, “It must come down off your pages immediately.” He repeated, “IMMEDIATELY.”

In a second email at 1:05 am, Fox urged another group full of public relations professionals and organizers to help suppress the film. “A number of reputable websites are hosting this abomination and I need your support in getting them to take it down”.

At 1:49 pm Josh tweeted 350.org founder, Bill McKibben. “We are on it”.

The article also quotes Films For Action Director Tim Hjersted calling Fox’s public claims about the film “incredibly misleading,” after Fox falsely claimed that Films For Action was the “distributor” of the film and had taken the film down.

“This is our environmental movement, our future — and frankly the future of life on Earth that is at stake,” said Moore. “‘Environmentalists’ funded by wealthy foundations and billionaires, and that partner with for-profit capitalism, want you to believe it’s their environmental movement, but everyone needs to have a seat at the table and a voice in this great debate—while there is still time.”

Planet of the Humans suggests that the saving of planet earth cannot happen by colluding with wealthy interests who have a desire to make money off the “green energy” movement. “We are so far gone with our destruction of life as we know it, only a radical reversal that includes reducing consumption, growth, and greed will give us a chance to turn things around,” said director Jeff Gibbs.

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  1. herb kline says:

    I agree with you 100% — keep fighting

  2. Delphine A. Busch says:

    Thank God for dedicated people like Michael Moore who want to open our minds. We need the entire film NOW!

  3. Davis Swan says:

    The film raises important questions despite the fact that it uses some dated and no longer accurate information. The film, like the book “Green Illusions” by one of its producers, Ozzie Zehner, is fundamentally about reducing consumption, being honest about the state of “green” energy, and making better choices that are not driven primarily by a solar/wind industry that is now a very powerful lobby group. It is worth seeing.

  4. Michael Dorsey says:

    I don’t believe CO2 is causing our climate to change. I do believe our climate is changing. But likely to get colder than warmer although it could do either. Michael Moore is a shrill for the political climate warming movement.

  5. Aaron says:

    In this case, “Controversy Creates Consciousness” rather than “cash” given the film is streaming for free on all of these sites.

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