CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is facing renewed criticism after personally reworking the headline of an article about Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, which critics say wrongly implied he had ties to the September 11 attacks. The story, written by producer Zak Hudak, examined old tweets El-Sayed had deleted, and Weiss reportedly praised the piece before changing its headline to explicitly reference the attacks, prompting accusations that she had turned a minor story into something far more inflammatory. The row adds to mounting scrutiny of Weiss's editorial judgement since she took charge of CBS News, and follows a separate controversy in July over the network's coverage of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The original headline referred to "Sept. 11 commemoration" prompting scrutiny of El-Sayed's past remarks, but Weiss changed it to highlight his "deleted tweets on Sept. 11 attacks". The two tweets in question, posted during the Covid-19 pandemic, actually compared the pandemic's death toll to that of 9/11 to argue for a similarly robust public health response, rather than expressing any sympathy for terrorism. El-Sayed's campaign said he has "always unequivocally condemned terrorism" and accused his Republican rival, Mike Rogers, of spreading "bad-faith lies". Weiss, who founded The Free Press and was appointed to CBS News last year by David Ellison, has previously faced criticism for lacking broadcast experience and for spiking segments seen as critical of the Trump administration.