The alleged involvement of CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss in a report concerning Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has ignited a contentious debate across social media platforms. The report, which focused on El-Sayed's deleted social media posts related to 9/11, drew criticism from the political left.
CBS News published the report noting that as the nation approached the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, El-Sayed might face renewed scrutiny over his past remarks. According to Status News, Weiss praised the story during a network editorial meeting and personally directed that the headline be altered to specifically mention El-Sayed had deleted tweets referencing the attacks. The revised headline read, "Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's deleted tweets on Sept. 11 attacks invite scrutiny of past remarks," a change from the original headline, "For Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, Sept. 11 commemoration invites scrutiny of past remarks."
Many on the left viewed Weiss's alleged involvement as a significant issue. Some critics described it as a "major scandal" and suggested that Weiss's actions were indicative of Islamophobia normalized within the media. Others argued that CBS News should not be permitted to host debates involving Democratic candidates if this was the standard of reporting.
Conversely, many on the right dismissed the outrage, framing Weiss's actions as standard editorial practice. Some commentators noted that an editor's role is to edit and suggested the reaction was disproportionate. Others pointed to the newsworthiness of a leading Senate candidate deleting tweets about 9/11, especially given past controversies involving campaign surrogates.
The CBS report highlighted El-Sayed's deleted posts, including comparisons made in 2020 between the 9/11 death toll and the coronavirus pandemic's toll. Another deleted post from September 11, 2021, reportedly stated, "Today, I mourn the 3K lives, 6K injuries, & infrastructural devastation in NYC, perpetuated ignorantly in the name of my faith. Tomorrow, I'll mourn ~1M lives, millions of injuries, & infrastructural devastation in 3 countries, perpetuated ignorantly in the name of my country."
When confronted by a CBS News reporter, El-Sayed responded, "What happened on 9/11 is a disaster. It was a terrible attack on our country. And our responsibility is also to think about, how do we build an America where we are protecting our servicemen and women from being asked to fight in wars we have no business fighting in?"
Earlier this year, El-Sayed apologized for comments made after a synagogue attack, stating, "To anybody who feels like my comments may have been hurtful, I’m really sorry."