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Entertainment
The CBS News story that garnered the most attention this year was never broadcast on CBS
The CBS News story that garnered the most attention this year was never broadcast on CBS
Yesterday, Bari Weiss, the new editor-in-chief of CBS News, suppressed a segment of its newsmagazine 60 Minutes regarding men deported to a prison in El Salvador. Today, the segment is surfacing online.
60 Minutes had been promoting the now-pulled segment online already. As it was withdrawn rather late, CBS seems to have overlooked at least one forum for distribution: Canada’s Global TV. Some viewers utilized a VPN to access it; at least one individual recorded and shared it via an iCloud account.
The segment, reviewed by The Verge, runs just under 14 minutes. It showcases footage of men, shackled and bent over, being “shown off to cameras, forced onto buses, and brought to CECOT,” as narrated in the segment. One former detainee, encountered by CBS in Colombia, stated he was labeled as “the living dead” at CECOT. After attempting to seek asylum in the US, he claims he was detained by customs for 6 months before being sent back. He recounted horrific experiences in the prison, saying he was beaten until he bled and thrown against a wall hard enough to break a tooth. He also described guards committing sexual assault. Another ex-detainee described what could be termed as torture: being made to kneel for 24 hours, and being placed in a dark room, where they faced beating if they moved from the stressed position.
The men were part of those who had been deported to El Salvador, a nation they do not belong to. The Trump administration has deported at least 288 individuals, primarily Venezuelans and Salvadorans, to CECOT after El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, offered to accommodate prisoners for a fee. Numerous deportees were in the process of asylum cases, according to The New York Times. This represents one of the most grotesque and astounding violations of human rights by the Trump administration, highlighting a crucial area for sustained journalism.
The Trump administration is looking to finalize similar arrangements with CECOT, valued at “millions,” as referenced in the segment. The US may start deporting individuals to locations with no ties to them, such as South Sudan and Uganda, both of which have “well-documented histories of prisoner torture.”
The reporting, in addition to uncovering the news of deals with other nations, appears to be meticulously done, with opportunities granted for commentary to both the US Department of Homeland Security and El Salvador.
“Our report underwent five screenings and was approved by both CBS lawyers and Standards and Practices,” wrote Sharyn Alfonsi, the journalist behind the segment, in an email to colleagues yesterday, as reported by The New York Times. “It is factually accurate. In my perspective, retracting it now, after satisfying all thorough internal reviews, is not an editorial choice but a political move.”
The report had passed through all required approvals, including Weiss’s, who unexpectedly reversed her decision. She insisted on further reporting, “including an on-camera interview with a member of the Trump administration,” according to The Washington Post. The segment was cancelled on Saturday night, with promotional content removed on Sunday. Weiss sent an editorial note stating, among other points, that the segment failed to sufficiently explain the government’s rationale behind sending individuals to El Salvador.
The notes seem justifiable — except for their timing, which is delayed and peculiar, almost appearing designed to incite controversy. Moreover, as the order to abort the segment arrived quite late, not every distributor substituted the program.
Weiss was appointed to oversee CBS News by David Ellison as part of a transparent effort to placate the Trump administration and facilitate his company’s, Skydance, acquisition of CBS’s parent company, Paramount. President Donald Trump has frequently criticized CBS — and 60 Minutes’ work specifically. Just prior to Skydance’s takeover, Paramount paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit that Trump initiated over the edits made to an interview with Kamala Harris.
Ellison’s Skydance is currently attempting to acquire Warner Bros. through a hostile takeover.
Weiss stated on an editorial call on Monday that she “held that story because it wasn’t ready,” as reported by The Washington Post. The team had provided the White House with an opportunity to comment, and the Trump administration chose not to respond, according to the Post. “If the standard for broadcasting a story is that ‘the government must consent to an interview,’ then the government essentially takes control of the 60 Minutes broadcast. We transition from being an investigative force to a mouthpiece for the state,” Alfonsi expressed in her email.
In any case, good luck to Weiss in navigating DMCA issues regarding the story’s video. The segment exists now as online samizdat. Due to Weiss’ censorship, it could ultimately become the most-discussed CBS News story this year.
