CBS News has recently faced a significant accusation in a formal complaint filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) earlier this week following the controversial editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. The Center for American Rights (CAR) claimed the network engaged in “significant and intentional news distortion.”
As background, CBS News has faced backlash after airing two very different answers to the same question during the “60 Minutes” interview with Harris last week. When faced with a question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris delivered a lengthy word salad answer that was criticized as incoherent. However, during its segment on television “60 Minutes” only aired an edited, condensed answer from Harris that appeared much clearer.
Addressing the incident, the CAR claimed that the substantial editing of Harris answer amounts to “deliberate news distortion — a violation of FCC rules governing broadcasters’ public interest obligations.” According to the complaint, the group called on CBS News to released to the unedited transcript of the interview with Harris to shed light on the truth.
CAR president Daniel Suhr stated, “This isn’t just about one interview or one network.” He added, “This is about the public’s trust in the media on critical issues of national security and international relations during one of the most consequential elections of our time. When broadcasters manipulate interviews and distort reality, it undermines democracy itself. The FCC must act swiftly to restore public confidence in our news media.”
The discrepancies between Kamala Harris’ full answer and what the network chose to air are vastly different. “Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of, many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region,” Harris originally said. However the response that was aired was, “We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”
The American Tribune recently reported on another controversy CBS News is facing after also editing the responses Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson gave during an interview with Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation.” The network ommitted substantial portions of Johnson’s
“CBS has been under fire for selectively editing their interviews to PROMOTE Democrats and UNDERMINE Republicans. Yesterday, they chose to cut FIVE important minutes out of my nearly 15 minute interview. You can be the judge as to why. Stand by for the receipts,” Johnson took to X, writing.
Johnson added, “I recently traveled to NC and victims of Hurricane Helene told me nearly two weeks after landfall, the Biden-Harris Administration had STILL not provided them with all the resources they desperately needed. But CBS selectively edited OUT ENTIRELY this first-hand perspective.” He continued, “Apparently, CBS also doesn’t want you to hear about Virginia Gov. Youngkin, who is trying to clean the state’s voter rolls so non-American citizens can’t vote there. We need more states doing this, but the Biden-Harris Administration is SUING VIRGINIA and trying to STOP it.”
Watch a clip Johnson shared below:
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