CBS News takes heat over report on Dem hopeful Abdul El-Sayed's now-deleted 9/11 posts
CBS News faced heat from the far-left Monday over a report about past comments Democratic Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed made about 9/11 ahead of the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack.
"As the nation prepares to mark 25 years since Sept. 11, 2001, Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, may be facing the risk of renewed scrutiny and fresh political attack," CBS News wrote Monday.
The report cited El-Sayed's deleted social media posts, including some from 2020 comparing the nearly 3,000 Americans killed on 9/11 to the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic. Another post from Sept. 11, 2021, first uncovered by The Washington Free Beacon, read, "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."
CBS News published a report about deleted 9/11 posts written by Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)
However, many of El-Sayed's supporters and other liberal critics expressed outrage linking El-Sayed to the forthcoming 9/11 anniversary.
"What an insane headline," far-left commentator Hasan Piker reacted on X. "This is why the [new Paramount owner David Ellison] bought CBS and put Bari Weiss in charge."
Bari Weiss was tapped by Ellison to become the network's editor-in-chief last fall as part of Paramount's multimillion-dollar acquisition of her outlet The Free Press.
"Hi @CBS @CBSNews @bariweiss do you think it's super offensive and disgusting and Islamophobic to do a tweet about the potential first ever Muslim Democratic senator which begins by referencing 9/11?" Zeteo founder and former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan asked.
Far-left critics invoked the appointment of CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss over the network's story about El-Sayed's deleted 9/11 posts. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for The Free Press)
"Despicable anti-Muslim woke right garbage from the house CBS account," The Bulwark podcast host and MS NOW analyst Tim Miller wrote.
SOCIALIST CANDIDATES CAN DELETE OLD POSTS, BUT THEY CAN'T ERASE THEIR RADICALISM
"What an insane, blatantly racist headline. Unreal," Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., posted.
"The current state of institutional media legit bums me out," Vox host and editorial director Astead Herndon said. "We’ve burned through so much credibility in recent years. And our information ecosystem is worse for it."
Progressive media hosts and commentators lashed out at CBS News for a report highlighting Abdul El-Sayed's past 9/11 comments. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
YOUTUBE STAR MS RACHEL GIVES FUNDS TO DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST MICHIGAN SENATE HOPEFUL ABDUL EL-SAYED
A CBS News source familiar with the story shrugged off the criticism, telling Fox News Digital that reports about deleted social media posts from politicians are published "all the time."
El-Sayed was confronted about his deleted posts 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?"
CBS News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to joseph.wulfsohn@fox.com and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.
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