CBS News reports on El-Sayed's deleted 9/11 tweets amid Michigan Senate race
Source: The Young Turks · All The Young Turks reports
Why this grade: C+: Accurately describes the CBS article, El-Sayed's tweets, apology, and ownership ties, but frames scrutiny as purely bigoted smear while omitting context on primary attacks and general-election concerns over his record.
Why this lean: Strongly progressive framing that portrays criticism of El-Sayed as Israel-first bigotry by media and Democrats; relies on selective interpretation and equates policy disagreement with anti-Muslim bias.
Embed this grade
Disagree with this grade or political lean?
Tell us why. Your note is reprocessed through the same grading logic; if the output is still off the report is removed, and if it holds up it stays.
Topics in this report
Summary
The segment analyzes a CBS News article from August 31, 2026, on Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed's deleted tweets referencing the 9/11 attacks alongside COVID deaths and US foreign policy costs. Hosts argue the piece exaggerates innocuous comments to smear El-Sayed as a Muslim sympathetic to terrorism. They discuss his recent apology to Jewish Democrats over March 2026 comments on a synagogue attack. The broadcast ties the coverage to Bari Weiss's leadership at CBS and Larry Ellison's pro-Israel philanthropy.
Editorial Assessment
The segment correctly identifies the CBS article's focus on verifiable deleted tweets and notes El-Sayed's apology, but its core claim of blatant bigotry lacks evidence beyond headline phrasing and timing near the 9/11 anniversary. Similar COVID-9/11 comparisons appeared from mainstream figures; the 2021 tweet equates mourning US post-9/11 actions. Viewers miss context on El-Sayed's narrow primary win amid antisemitism accusations and AIPAC spending against him, plus Democratic concerns about general-election viability. Ownership details on Ellison are accurate but used to imply propaganda without addressing the article's factual sourcing from public posts.
Key Moments
CBS article exaggerates El-Sayed's tweets to imply he sympathized with 9/11 attackers because he is Muslim
Tweets are real and reported accurately by CBS; article notes scrutiny in Senate race context without explicit accusation of sympathy.
El-Sayed compared 9/11 deaths to COVID toll and called for public health mobilization like post-9/11 response
Matches CBS reporting of April 2020 deleted post; similar points made by Trump and others.
Larry Ellison's pro-Israel donations explain CBS's coverage under Bari Weiss
Ellison ties documented; article itself cites public tweets and race dynamics, not ownership directives.
El-Sayed apologized for 'hurt people hurt people' remark after synagogue attack
Confirmed in his Aug 29, 2026, statements to Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus.
Notable Concerns
- Heavy interpretive framing of factual reporting as Islamophobic smear
- Selective omission of El-Sayed's primary controversies and broader Democratic skepticism
Sources Consulted
- Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's deleted tweets on Sept. 11 attacks invite scrutiny of past remarks
- Abdul El-Sayed wins Democratic nomination for Michigan open Senate seat
- El-Sayed Apologizes for March Comment About Michigan Synagogue Attack
- Embracing blatant Islamophobia, CBS News makes bizarre attempt to tie El-Sayed to 9/11
- Abdul El-Sayed scrubbed old tweet trashing America on 9/11, faces calls from Dems to disavow Hasan Piker