CBS News came under criticism from far-left commentators on Monday. The scrutiny was due to a report on past remarks by Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, regarding the 9/11 attacks. This report emerged ahead of the 25th anniversary of the terrorist event.
According to CBS News, El-Sayed might face renewed attention and political challenges. He had deleted social media posts, some relating the nearly 3,000 American 9/11 casualties to those from the COVID-19 pandemic. Another post from September 11, 2021, which the Washington Free Beacon first revealed, expressed mourning for both the victims of 9/11 and those affected by actions taken by the U.S. overseas.
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 report led to strong reactions from El-Sayed’s supporters and liberal critics. Hasan Piker, a far-left commentator, called the headline “insane.” His concerns were echoed by Mehdi Hasan, who questioned CBS News’s narrative as being Islamophobic, while Tim Miller described the situation as “despicable anti-Muslim” sentiment.
Other critics expressed disappointment in the state of media. Astead Herndon stated that media credibility has suffered in recent years, impacting the reliability of information.
Despite the backlash, a source from CBS News indicated that reports about politicians deleting social media content are routine. When questioned by a local CBS News reporter, El-Sayed described 9/11 as a “terrible attack,” emphasizing the need to carefully consider future military engagements.
Requests for comments from CBS News remained unanswered. Joseph A. Wulfsohn, a media reporter for Fox News Digital, contributed to covering this event. He can be contacted for story tips via email or Twitter.