A hastily canceled segment of the news program 60 Minutes has led to accusations that CBS is censoring its content to appease the Trump administration. As fallout grows over the decision to pull a story critical of Trump’s deportation policies, calls are growing to boycott the network.
Reporter decries pulling ’60 Minutes’ report as a ‘political’ decision
Just hours before 60 Minutes was scheduled to air a segment on the El Salvador prison CECOT, where Kilmar Abrego Garcia and a number of other people deported by the Trump administration have been imprisoned, CBS announced that the report was “postponed” and would not air during Sunday night’s program.
Journalist Sharyn Alfonsi, the reporter responsible for the story, said in an email to colleagues that the story “INSIDE CEDOT” had been internally vetted multiple times and was “factually correct.” She said CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss made the decision to pull the story; Alfonsi said Weiss pulling the story “is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.” Alfonsi attributed the decision to the Trump administration’s refusal to comment on the report, which she described as “a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story.”
Weiss told CBS News staffers Monday that the story was “not ready” and that the version of the segment set to air did not substantially add to previous reports on the topic of the prison. “We need to be able to get the principals on the record and on camera,” Weiss said. She has defended pulling the story, arguing, “Holding stories that aren’t ready for whatever reason — that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices — happens every day in every newsroom.” She claimed CBS would air “this important story when it’s ready.”
Calls grow to boycott CBS over ’60 Minutes’ decision
Weiss’ defense has been met with skepticism by many who see this as yet another example of CBS seeking to placate the Trump administration in the wake of a change in ownership for the network. The sale of CBS to Skydance Media, a company led by billionaire Larry Ellison’s son, David Ellison, has coincided with previous network interference in 60 Minutes’ coverage of Trump, as well as the canceling of Trump critic Stephen Colbert’s late-night show. This latest apparent act of censorship has led to calls for a boycott.
“CBS News is trying to be the next Fox News and they aren’t even hiding it. BOYCOTT CBS NEWS,” X user Vitz posted. “David Ellison (Trumper) bought CBS and is now putting in weird right wingers into positions of power. CBS CANNOT BE TRUSTED. RIP CBS.”
Some were specific in the demands behind a potential boycott. “Everyone should boycott @CBSNews until this decision is reversed and @bariweiss is fired,” wrote another X user. “Sharyn Alfonsi had it right — this amounts to a government veto on news coverage. No #American should stand for this. #SAD.”
Others called for an even broader boycott than simply CBS News. “It’s one thing to say you’ll boycott @CBSNews but what about @CBS overall?” posted another X user. “The sports, the crime shows. That would really let them know the audience ain’t with the bs.”
MeidasTouch Editor-in-Chief Ron Filipkowski succinctly posted “Boycott CBS” to his 1 million followers on X.
For months, CBS and other networks have come under fire for seemingly censoring their content and silencing prominent anti-Trump voices. The decision to pull a news segment hours before it was set to air represents a new level of apparent appeasement of the Trump administration. For many, this decision is a last straw, and it remains to be seen if CBS will suffer significant viewer loss or other consequences for this choice.