CBS News Staff Criticizes Bari Weiss Over Coverage of Abdul El-Sayed

<figure><img alt="Bari Weiss hosts Senator Ted Cruz presented by Uber and X on January 18, 2025 in Washington, DC." src="https://thedailybeast-thedailybeast-prod.web.arc-cdn.net/resizer/v2/3BHIH5V36VG4ZJJCFRTP5L2HLE.jpg?auth=3f27ee2e01638068abb7231c26b8b1033b1e36973ebe31e07471ff322ed598af&amp;smart=true&amp;width=2108&amp;height=1186" /><figcaption>Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press</figcaption></figure><p>Bari Weiss, the head of CBS News, faced significant criticism from current and former staff members after she intervened in a story linking Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to the anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.</p><p>Staff members expressed their discontent with the coverage, describing the article as “shameful.” The report discussed El-Sayed, who is campaigning to become the first Muslim elected to the Senate, and included a social media post that suggested he might face increased scrutiny and political attacks as the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approached.</p><p>The article, published on September 1, 2026, highlighted that El-Sayed had deleted two posts from X (formerly Twitter) made at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which he noted that the virus had resulted in more American deaths than the 2001 attacks.</p><p>In one of the deleted posts, El-Sayed, a former epidemiologist and public health official, expressed hope that the next decade would focus on public health and poverty, akin to the global response after 9/11.</p><img alt="The post and the story on Abdul El-Sayed were accused of being Islamophobic and racist online. / X/CBS News" height="968" src="https://thedailybeast-thedailybeast-prod.web.arc-cdn.net/resizer/v2/E3YJ5ZIL3ZHVRCT6NWRWZ3UWQU.png?auth=d3c4ba2177120e0f1e46330f21070c17c68688fcb2f2d49ff9b685a74ee47b4e&amp;smart=true&amp;width=1186&amp;height=968" width="1186" /><p>El-Sayed's campaign indicated that the posts were deleted to prevent misinterpretation. However, Weiss, who had no prior experience in television news production, believed the deleted posts warranted coverage.</p><p>Sources indicated that Weiss directed changes to the story's headline to specifically mention El-Sayed's deleted posts related to the 9/11 attacks.</p><img alt="Abdul El-Sayed will face Republican nominee Mike Rogers in the Michigan Senate race in November. / Rebecca Cook / Rebecca Cook/Reuters" height="3794" src="https://thedailybeast-thedailybeast-prod.web.arc-cdn.net/resizer/v2/NNQU3GS6PJCWTJ3PLL644JZCFY.JPG?auth=5e5867873929578da6e9cae90564c83faf380e0de741e0f9562398a07123de3a&amp;smart=true&amp;width=5500&amp;height=3794" width="5500" /><p>The decision caused unrest among CBS staff, who viewed it as an example of poor news judgment that could harm the network's reputation. One staff member remarked that the coverage exaggerated a minor news item.</p><p>A former senior staff member described the report as “shameful” and noted overt racism in the coverage.</p><img alt="Bari Weiss has faced widespread criticism for her controversial overhaul of CBS News and programs such as “60 Minutes.” / Mike Blake / REUTERS" height="2767" src="https://thedailybeast-thedailybeast-prod.web.arc-cdn.net/resizer/v2/6XPPQNEL7RG7BG7LAJUWQ5UPWU.JPG?auth=61d170c6d22ba73050d3736e5f0acbbd57f06d254d2e9ed45ce8040b6e63dfd8&amp;smart=true&amp;width=4919&amp;height=2767" width="4919" /><p>The report emerged as El-Sayed faced scrutiny for his association with progressive streamer Hasan Piker, who has previously made controversial remarks regarding the 9/11 attacks, for which he has since apologized.</p><p>Oliver Darcy from Status suggested that CBS News would not have framed the story around El-Sayed's deleted posts if he were not a Muslim. He noted that El-Sayed did not praise the attackers or minimize the attacks' horror but merely compared the pandemic's death toll to that of 9/11, advocating for a similar urgency in addressing public health issues.</p><p>The Daily Beast has reached out to CBS News and Abdul El-Sayed's office for comments.</p><p><a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-curious-cbs-boss-bari-weiss-hit-with-furious-staff-backlash-over-abdul-el-sayed-story/">Read more at The Daily Beast.</a></p>