‘Reagan’ film set to release director’s cut amid alleged online censorship
The team behind the "Reagan" movie alleged online censorship over film’s September re-release, saying YouTube labeled podcast episodes about the film as election ads.
As the team behind the 2024 biopic "Reagan" promotes and prepares for the film’s re-release next month, it once again finds itself battling what its producer calls digital gatekeeping.
This time, producer Mark Joseph is taking issue with Google’s YouTube after ads promoting interviews with stars and others associated with the film were flagged under the platform's advertising policies. The interviews are part of Joseph's podcast special series, "Making REAGAN."
Since the film — which starred Dennis Quaid as the 40th president — was first released in theaters in August 2024, its creators have faced numerous obstacles, including restrictions imposed by Facebook early on related to efforts to boost posts and advertisements for the film. Production on "Reagan" began in 2020.
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In what Joseph describes as the latest censorship activity by YouTube, an ad promoting the first episode of the series, featuring rock legend Gene Simmons discussing family, his producing endeavors and his appreciation for America, was flagged by the platform for "advertisement for elections" and "shocking content," despite the noticeably tame conversation.
Simmons’ cover of "Stormy Weather" was his contribution to the "Reagan" movie.
"For 30 years, Simmons has been branded for outrageous content, and now he’s been deemed outrageous for talking?" Joseph told Fox News Digital.
Simmons, the co-founder, co-lead singer and bassist of the legendary rock band KISS, has long been famous for his black-and-white face paint, inordinately long tongue, fire-breathing and blood-spitting stunts and overall stage persona.
"The notion that a simple conversation with a rock legend like Gene Simmons is labeled ‘shocking content’ and ‘election advertising’ is ridiculous, as anyone who watches the episode can attest," Joseph added. "These are normal conversations."
Other episodes whose promotions were flagged for "election advertising" feature Kathie Lee Gifford, who co-wrote the tribute song "I Knew It Would Be You" for the film; actresses Amanda Righetti and Lesley-Anne Down; actors Dan Lauria, Elya Baskin and Trevor Donovan; author Arthur Laffer; singer Tanya Tucker; and screenwriter and filmmaker Howard Klausner.
An Aug. 12 episode in which Joseph sits down with John Hinckley Jr. for an exclusive interview and extensive discussion about his 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan also had its promotion blocked for "election advertising."
"The idea that an information and news-oriented interview with the man who shot Ronald Reagan, John Hinckley, is labeled ‘election advertising’ and blocked from being boosted is equally crazy," Joseph said.
According to Joseph’s team, when this happens, YouTube does not provide an option to appeal the ruling, but only allows them to boost a different episode.
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Joseph has called on the video-streaming platform to reverse its decision and stop blocking the team's attempts to promote the episodes, as well as the release of the "Reagan" director’s cut in theaters Sept. 25. The extended version includes 10 additional minutes of footage and returns to roughly 600 theaters on Sept. 25, after limited Independence Day screenings tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary.
YouTube responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment with a statement citing that "ads related to the podcast were removed for including profanity," referring specifically to the episode featuring Simmons.
A YouTube representative did note, however, that after review, the ad does not violate their U.S. Election Ads policy, but since it still contains profanity, it can’t be approved to run as an advertisement. Beyond that, it was noted that the creator’s videos are compliant with YouTube’s community guidelines, which apply to organic content.
It also said that the platform had reached out to the creator to "help them understand our policies moving forward, and they are welcome to adjust the content in order to promote the video in the future."
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Yet numerous other episodes were flagged for "election advertising."
YouTube noted its U.S. Election Ads policy, which requires advertisers to have an elections certification to run ads that feature a reference to a current candidate or officeholder for an elected office.
Joseph reiterated that many of the episodes weren’t geared towards politics and were just discussions with those who contributed to the "Reagan" film.
YouTube then responded, "Following a careful review, we determined that a few of these advertised episodes were out of scope of the Election Ads policy, but others are in scope."
Directed by Sean McNamara and produced by Rawhide Pictures, "Reagan" follows his childhood in Illinois, Hollywood acting career, California governorship and rise to the presidency.
Besides the overall challenge the filmmakers say they faced while telling the story of a conservative icon in left-leaning Hollywood, the film’s production encountered many stops and starts.
While filming in Guthrie, Okla., the production had to shut down for a month due to COVID.
Then, while promoting the film and ahead of its release, Facebook restricted efforts to boost posts and advertisements for the movie. Material featuring Quaid and a Reagan quotation about America’s best days still lying ahead was affected. The film’s official Facebook page also faced temporary suspensions.
For its part, Facebook cited automated systems and policies governing content involving politicians before a presidential election as the problem. Although Trump was the Republican on the ballot, not Reagan, Facebook later said that automated systems had mistakenly flagged content about "Reagan" as requiring special authorization under its social-issues and elections rules.
"The similarities to Facebook are that both use a nebulous reasoning that the content somehow constitutes electioneering, but with the ‘Making Reagan’ series on YouTube, these are just ordinary conversations with people who were involved with the film or the topic of the film and have nothing to do with advocating for an election," Joseph said.
Other obstacles related to the movie involved the Guinness World Records declining to certify a milestone asserted by the filmmakers: that the movie achieved the widest gap between audience and critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes for any American-made movie.
In terms of the YouTube kerfuffle, producer, director and CEO of boutique marketing agency Ribbow Media Group CEO Ash Greyson said he, too, has had ongoing issues when using YouTube’s platform to promote conservative films. But it’s the faith-based films he’s marketed that have faced the greatest hurdles.
Greyson helped market and promote the 2023 Christian drama "Jesus Revolution," among other Christian-based films, including "God’s Not Dead" and "I Still Believe."
"It’s been a frustrating and ongoing issue for years, particularly on YouTube, where they will flag anything ‘faith,’" Greyson said, noting that he’s had very few issues regarding films outside those genres. "And it seems to be worse on the Christian stuff."
For Joseph, it’s simply about getting these important stories seen after all the sweat equity involved in making them.
"It’s unfortunate because it severely limits the reach," he said regarding what he sees as obstacles needlessly put up by YouTube.
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