Story perspectives

CBS Placed Deleted 9/11 Tweets in Headline

9/2/2026

Left

CBS Faces Backlash

CBS News aired a story on August 31, 2026 about Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s deleted tweets referencing the September 11 attacks.
The coverage was widely condemned as Islamophobic and racist, with staff and commentators accusing CBS of smearing a Muslim candidate.
Democratic Reps Yassamin Ansari, Rashida Tlaib and CBS staff denounced the story as a racist, coordinated attack.
CBS employee called “trash” and “Islamophobic,” prompting editor-in-chief Bari Weiss to order 9/11 headline, promote it.

Right

El-Sayed Tweet Deletion

CBS News reported on August 31, 2026 that Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed deleted tweets referencing the September 11 attacks.
The coverage frames the tweets as a political attack, noting El-Sayed’s condemnation of 9/11 and warning the posts could reinforce a perception of extremism.
El-Sayed told a CBS reporter the September 11 attacks were a disaster.
Matt Grossmann said the tweets unlikely to end his campaign, yet may fuel extreme-view perception.

Center

El-Sayed Tweet Deletion

CBS News published a story on August 31, 2026 about Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s deleted tweets referencing the September 11 attacks.
Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss instructed staff to place deleted-tweet reference in the headline, a move made as campaign reiterated its condemnation of terrorism.
In April 2020, El-Sayed likened the COVID-19 death toll to September 11 fatalities and urged a mobilization.
A campaign spokesperson told CBS that El-Sayed has unequivocally condemned terrorism and the September 11 attacks.

Blindspot

Democratic Representatives Yassamin Ansari and Rashida Tlaib described the CBS story as a racist, coordinated attack on the Muslim Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning and Right-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

In May 2004, CBS News aired the Dan Rather-produced ‘Killian documents’ segment, which later proved fabricated and sparked a national media credibility crisis. The segment cited five alleged memos, yet a subsequent internal review found zero authentic documents and cost CBS an estimated $12 million in legal fees. Similarly, the August 31 2026 story on Abdul El-Sayed’s deleted 9/11 tweets, ordered by editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, revived accusations of targeting by Democrats Yassamin Ansari. The recurrence of such editorial choices suggests CBS’s past credibility breach still shapes public trust, prompting Rep. Rashida Tlaib to demand stricter newsroom oversight.

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CBS Faces Backlash

CBS News aired a story on August 31, 2026 about Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s deleted tweets referencing the September 11 attacks.
The coverage was widely condemned as Islamophobic and racist, with staff and commentators accusing CBS of smearing a Muslim candidate.
Democratic Reps Yassamin Ansari, Rashida Tlaib and CBS staff denounced the story as a racist, coordinated attack.
CBS employee called “trash” and “Islamophobic,” prompting editor-in-chief Bari Weiss to order 9/11 headline, promote it.

1 / 5