CBS staff accuse network of ‘overt racism’ over Abdul El-Sayed 9/11 story

CBS staff accuse network of ‘overt racism’ over Abdul El-Sayed 9/11 story Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 09/01/2026 - 18:37 Staffers have pushed back against CBS's decision to revive years-old deleted posts by the Muslim Senate candidate and foreground 9/11 in its coverage US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks during the Michigan Democratic Party General Election Kickoff Rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit, Michigan, on 7 August 2026 (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP) Off CBS News is facing internal backlash over its coverage of Muslim US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, with current and former staffers accusing the network of poor journalism and “overt” racism. The controversy erupted after CBS published a story highlighting old social media posts by El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11. El-Sayed, who could become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, had deleted posts in which he compared the mounting Covid-19 death toll with the nearly 3,000 people killed on 11 September 2001 and called for Washington to mobilise against poverty and the pandemic as it had after the attacks.