A leaked email and a closer look at interview footage and quotes point to a move by angry activists to target Michael Moore’s latest film, Planet of Humans, getting it removed from YouTube because, as Smith said he “wasn’t interested in negotiation” and did not agree with its message and I don’t like the misleading use of facts in its narrative.”
The public statement is that Smith filed the complaint to YouTube on May 23, claiming that the footage of his Rare Earthenware project in Planet of the Humans was copyright violation.
Smith said that he “…did not want his work associated with something he disagreed with. “I went directly to YouTube rather than approaching the filmmakers because I wasn’t interested in negotiation. 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.”
In a statement to The Verge, director Jeff Gibbs denied any copyright violation in his film, which garnered more than 8 million views on YouTube. “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,” Gibbs wrote. “It is a misuse of copyright law to shutdown a film that has opened a serious conversation about how parts of the environmental movement have gotten into bed with Wall Street.”
Now Medium author Matt Orfalea has written an article examines Josh Fox’s campaign to get Planet of the Humans removed from YouTube.
Fox, now a show host at TYT, told his colleagues, “It must come down off your pages immediately.” He repeated, “IMMEDIATELY.”
Here’s the email dated April 22:
From: Josh Fox
Date: Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 12:41 AMDear friends-
I am so sorry to have to be the messenger here.
But.
This new Michael Moore movie, is, to put it politely
A GIGANTIC CROCK OF SHIT.It is a disgusting unfactual unscientific abomination.
You must take it down ASAP.
I am so serious.
It is absolutely disgustingly horrible. Beyond it being terribly made, amateurish and inept. It has absolutely no factual basis. It encourages the most baseless kind of thinking. It also goes after heroes in our movement in gotcha type interviews for no absolutely reason.
It is TERRIBLE reporting. Cherry picking, ignorant. It is not only untrue, not factual in any way it is incredibly deceptive.
I cannot stress this enough. This film is as untruthful and deceitful as anything Donald Trump EVER did.
It must come down off of your pages immediately.
Please call me ASAP. This is terribly upsetting. I don’t care what time of day or night it is, this abhorrent piece of misinformation must be rejected and disavowed immediately.
IMMEDIATELY.
…
An hour later:
From: Josh Fox
Date: Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 1:05 AMDear activist friends and climate heroes-
I have bad news. There is a new MICHAEL MOORE produced film which just came out online which is an affront to all of our work.
The movie is a badly-made, unfactual smear peace that attacks the basic mainstays of environmentalism.
The film attacks renewable energy and climate leaders who promote renewable energy development in very unfair ways.
It is an unscientific, unwatchable sensationalistic piece of yellow journalism. Michael was just on Stephen Colbert promoting it. I think Michael Moore must have totally lost his mind to promote this.
It is called PLANET OF THE HUMANS and Moore has propped up a spiffy website to promote it.
The film needs to be roundly condemned. It is dangerous, and unfactual.
Please take a look, see what I mean and get in touch with me ASAP. A number of reputable websites are hosting this abomination and I need your support in getting them to take it down. See below.
Thanks
Josh
LINK TO THE FILM: https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/michael-moore-presents-planet-of-the-humans/
At 1:49 pm Josh tweeted 350.org founder, Bill McKibben. “We are on it”. (At the bottom)
What angered Fox so greatly?
Planet of the Humans exposed environmental organizations, like 350.org and Sierra Club, actively hid the fact that they received $3 million from the world’s leading timber investment advisor — advising not to preserve forests, but to cut them down.
350.org’s recommended “Green Century Funds” were invested in things like oil and gas infrastructure companies, Coca-Cola (the largest creator of plastic pollution), and big banks including Black Rock (the largest financier of deforestation on earth).
Fox acknowledges “there are problems with Sierra Club” but not with his friend McKibben, whose 350.org says they are “not sure” whether the film should be censored or not.
Medium points out and quotes that many activist critics attacked film without every watching it.
Films For Action director Tim Hjersted says Fox convinced him the film was “full of harmful misinformation”, and that Fox argued, “You wouldn’t host a film by Steve Bannon would you? Or Andrew Breitbart?”
FFA caved to Fox’s pressure and took the film down.
After the film was taken off Films for Action, Fox announced on Twitter that “the distributor of Michael Moore’s #PlanetoftheHumans is taking the film down due to misinformation in the film.”
LAST MINUTE ADDITION TO STAYING HOME WITH JOSH FOX:
Professor Anthony Ingraffea, from Cornell University and I discuss how misleading and unscientific
PLANET OF THE HUMANS from @MMFlint actually is.We will break it down.
Tune in TONIGHT 7pm eastern, on @actdottv and here. pic.twitter.com/8l0xkNnsC8
— Josh Fox BlackLivesMatter (@joshfoxfilm) April 22, 2020
1) I just received notice that the distributor of Michael Moore’s #PlanetoftheHumans is taking the film down due to misinformation in the film.
Thank you to @FilmsForAction for responding to our demand for a retraction and an apology from @mmflint.
See below. And thank you to… pic.twitter.com/3ZzkLhTVyC— Josh Fox BlackLivesMatter (@joshfoxfilm) April 24, 2020
