The 60 Minutes Report on CECOT Censored by Bari Weiss
Yesterday, Bari Weiss, the new editor-in-chief of CBS News, censored a segment of its newsmagazine 60 Minutes about men who had been deported to an El Salvador prison.
The segment, which has been reviewed by The Verge, is a little shy of 14 minutes long and features video of men, chained and bent double, being “paraded in front of cameras, pushed onto buses, and delivered to CECOT,” according to the segment’s narration.
One former detainee, who CBS met in Colombia, said he was told he was “the living dead” at CECOT. He described horrific conditions at the prison, saying he was beaten until he bled and that he was thrown into a wall so hard he broke one of his teeth.
Bari Weiss’ Censorship Sparks Outrage
However, the story was pulled so late that CBS missed at least one platform for distribution: Canada’s Global TV. Some people used a VPN to watch it; at least one person recorded it, distributing it through an iCloud account.
Moreover, the order to kill the story came so late that CBS didn’t successfully replace the original program everywhere that had been set to deliver it.
Consequently, the segment lives as online samizdat now, thanks to Weiss’ censorship, it may very well wind up being the most-talked-about CBS News story this year.
The Story Behind the Censorship
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has sent at least 288 people, mostly Venezuelans and Salvadorans, to CECOT after the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, offered to house prisoners for a fee.
Furthermore, the US may begin deporting people to places they have no relationship with, such as South Sudan and Uganda, which also have “well-documented histories of torturing prisoners.”
Additionally, the story, in addition to breaking news about the deals with other countries, appears to be thoroughly reported, and both the US Department of Homeland Security and El Salvador were given opportunities to comment.
The Fallout
Therefore, Weiss was placed in charge of CBS News by David Ellison as part of a fairly obvious attempt to placate the Trump administration and allow his company, Skydance, to acquire CBS parent company, Paramount.
In addition, Weiss claimed on an editorial call on Monday that she “held that story because it wasn’t ready,” according to The Washington Post.
However, Alfonsi wrote in her email that “if the standard for airing a story becomes ‘the government must agree to be interviewed,’ then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast.”
The Future of Journalism
Meanwhile, the segment’s censorship has sparked a debate about the role of journalism in a democratic society.
Furthermore, the incident highlights the challenges faced by journalists in reporting on sensitive topics and the importance of maintaining editorial independence.
Therefore, the future of journalism hangs in the balance as the industry grapples with the implications of censorship and the role of government in shaping the narrative.
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