CBS published a story about Al-Sayyid that was entirely fictional.
Posted by Pivot, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
PivotSep 4, 2026
CBS did publish a 2026 story about Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (spelled 'Al-Sayyid' in the post) tying him to 9/11 scrutiny, but it was not entirely fictional: it cited two real, deleted El-Sayed social media posts, and El-Sayed defended one of them.
What was said
… I just am articulating the mood inside. Let me say, I don't think I'm with some people, you know, see opportunity as always people climbing up greasy poles, love to see if they can get up higher, but I think most people are pretty, like, I don't think so, especially after this recent terrible CBS story about Al-Sayyid, which was entirely fictional. I don't know what else to say. That's what it was. So we'll see where it goes, but George Clooney is on the job, and I think he will top Tom Cruise in this, in this regard, and even though I'm very excited about the new Day of Days of Thunder with Ann …
Pivot · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Multiple reports say the CBS story cited two deleted El-Sayed social media posts that actually surfaced in 2020 and compared COVID-19 deaths with 9/11 deaths, so the story rested on real material.[1][2][3]
Contradicts. El-Sayed defended the second deleted post in an interview with CBS News, which indicates the posts and the story's basis were real rather than invented.[1]
Context. Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and CBS staff, argued the story unfairly framed El-Sayed as a terrorist sympathizer and was poorly sourced or insinuating; this is a dispute over framing and journalistic judgment, not evidence that the story was fabricated.[1][2][3]
Context. The post's 'Al-Sayyid' is read as Abdul El-Sayed, the subject of the CBS story about 9/11 and his deleted posts, which is the referent the sources cover.[1][2]
Sources
3 sources: 3 not rated
- 1Lawmakers, Journalists Rip CBS News Over 'Insane ...commondreams.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts, context
- 2CBS News' Abdul El-Sayed Post Sparks Digital Backlashyahoo.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, context
- 3CBS staff accuse network of ‘overt racism’ over Abdul El ...middleeasteye.net · not rated · cited for: contradicts, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post