Fracking film maker accuses IMF of censorship

The maker of a documentary in support of oil and gas fracking has accused the International Monetary Fund of censorship after it declined to show a key clip from his film at a conference.

Phelim McAleer, whose film FrackNation argues in support of the controversial exploration technique, said the IMF was afraid of offending Russia by letting him show the clip at the conference this week.

The clip suggests that allowing fracking in Eastern European countries such as Poland would ease the region's dependence on imported energy.

It alleges that powerful gas exporter Russia was financing the anti-fracking movement to protect its sales.

"Basically they were censoring my presentation, they were censoring my speech," said McAleer.

"They're trying to force people not to say terrible things because it could offend one of their senior members," he told AFP. "They didn't want to offend Russia."

McAleer had been invited to make a presentation at lunch on Wednesday, the first day of the two day joint IMF-Oxford University conference in Washington on commodity prices.

But he decided not to attend after the IMF said in an email that it could not permit the clip on Russia and Poland "without allowing others to have their say on the matter".

"Since that isn't possible on this occasion, Phelim will have to skip that," it said in the email, viewed by AFP.

The IMF said it welcomed McAleer showing other excerpts from his documentary.

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Fracking film maker accuses IMF of censorship