Controversial CBS News headline on Abdul El-Sayed reportedly pushed by Bari Weiss

Politics
2 Sep 2026 • 1:17 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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Controversial CBS News headline on Abdul El-Sayed reportedly pushed by Bari Weiss

  • CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss reportedly personally directed a headline change for an article targeting Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed over deleted 9/11 tweets.
  • The article and headline drew widespread condemnation from lawmakers and political commentators, who criticized the framing as racist and Islamophobic.
  • Unnamed sources later told “Status” writer Oliver Darcy that Weiss had “personally directed that the headline be tweaked to specifically mention that El-Sayed had deleted tweets referencing the September 11 terrorist attack.”
  • Critics noted that one of the deleted tweets showed El-Sayed, an epidemiologist, comparing COVID-19 death tolls to 9/11 to advocate for public health funding.
  • The controversy is the latest accusation of editorial interference against Weiss, who has faced criticism from staff and former correspondents for pushing a conservative agenda.

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