CBS Faces Backlash After Pulled 60 Minutes Segment Leaks Online
60 Minutes segment on migrant deportations & conditions at El Salvador’s CECOT prison has surfaced online—link to watch segment in article
CBS News is under fire after a controversial 60 Minutes segment on the Trump administration’s immigration policy leaked online following its abrupt removal from broadcast.
The report, titled “Inside CECOT,” focused on Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador’s high-security Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT. Former detainees described brutal conditions, including beatings, torture and sexual abuse. One former detainee said, “When you get there, you already know you’re in hell. You don’t need anyone to tell you.”
The story was scheduled to air Sunday but was pulled by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss just hours before broadcast. Weiss said the piece needed more context and additional commentary from the Trump administration. CBS later said it looked forward to airing the report once it was “ready.”
Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who reported the segment, pushed back against the decision. In an internal email obtained by multiple outlets, she said the story had passed legal and editorial checks and called its cancellation “not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”
Despite efforts to halt its release, an unedited version aired briefly on the Canadian Global Television Network’s app and quickly spread online before takedown notices were issued. CBS said its content protection team was working to remove unauthorized copies.
The fallout has stirred debate about journalistic independence at one of television’s most respected news programs. Critics, including lawmakers and press freedom advocates, argue the timing and reasoning behind the pull raise serious questions about influence and transparency.
The episode’s focus on the rapid deportations under the Trump administration and the conditions at CECOT is a highly politically-charged topic. Independent reports have suggested many of the men sent to the prison had no criminal convictions, prompting legal and ethical concerns. Supporters of the administration’s policies point out that being in the country illegally is, in and of itself, a crime.
As the controversy unfolds, CBS is facing accusations of editorial interference and bias—“a betrayal of journalism itself.” The network has pledged to address concerns and potentially rebroadcast the segment once additional reporting is complete. Meanwhile, the leaked version remains widely accessible online, fueling ongoing discussion about media, power and accountability.
Weiss’s decision to pull the 60 Minutes segment is not the first flashpoint since she took the helm at CBS News in October. Her leadership has stirred internal debate and public scrutiny over her direction for one of television’s most storied newsrooms. Shortly before the 60 Minutes controversy, Weiss hosted a primetime town hall with Erika Kirk, widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, that drew significantly lower ratings than expected and lagged behind the network’s usual viewership in the same time slot. According to Nielsen data, the program fell about 41 percent in the key 25-54 advertising demographic compared to typical CBS programming in that hour, a sharp drop that undercut promotional efforts and raised questions about audience appetite for the new format.
