CBS News is facing criticism from progressive commentators following a report detailing past social media posts by Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, concerning 9/11. The report, published ahead of the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, highlighted deleted posts from 2020 and 2021.
One post from 2020 compared the nearly 3,000 Americans killed on 9/11 to the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic. A post from September 11, 2021, 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."
The CBS News report noted that El-Sayed may face renewed scrutiny and political attacks due to these remarks.
In response to the report, numerous progressive figures expressed outrage. Far-left commentator Hasan Piker called the headline "insane." Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan questioned CBS News, asking if it was "super offensive and disgusting and Islamophobic" to publish such a story about a potential Muslim Democratic senator, referencing the network's editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss.
Other critics included The Bulwark host Tim Miller, who described the report as "despicable anti-Muslim woke right garbage," and Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari, who labeled the headline "blatantly racist." Vox host Astead Herndon commented on the state of institutional media, suggesting a loss of credibility.
A source familiar with the CBS News story defended the report, stating that publishing stories about politicians' deleted social media posts is common practice. El-Sayed himself addressed the controversy when confronted by a local CBS News reporter on the campaign trail.
"What happened on 9/11 is a disaster. It was a terrible attack on our country," El-Sayed said. "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?"
