The report, published Monday, faced immediate backlash from lawmakers and journalists for suggesting El-Sayed, who seeks to become the first Muslim American senator, faced political risk due to past commentary on the 2001 attacks. According to Status, Weiss mandated changes to the headline to explicitly highlight that the candidate had deleted tweets referencing the event. However, the posts in question contained benign calls for national unity during the Covid-19 pandemic and reflections on the human toll of the War on Terror.
Despite internal pushback, Weiss reportedly championed the story during a daily editorial meeting. Anonymous staffers characterized the coverage as “shameful,” “trash,” and “horribly Islamophobic” to media observers. This incident occurs amid a period of significant turmoil at the network following its acquisition by David Ellison. Since Weiss assumed her role, CBS has seen record-low ratings and a series of departures, including veteran correspondent Scott Pelley, who previously accused management of pressuring him to inject bias into sensitive reporting.
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