CBS Draws Intense Backlash Over 16-Second Jan. 6 Segment on Trump Website
Critics say the brief treatment misrepresented a fact-heavy issue, raising questions about CBS’s new editorial direction.
Overview
- On the Jan. 6 anniversary, CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil gave a roughly 16‑second mention that framed Trump’s new January 6 website as dueling claims between Trump and Hakeem Jeffries.
- The Trump site promoted narratives described by critics as false, including assertions that Democrats staged the real insurrection and that police escalated the violence.
- A clip of the CBS segment circulated widely on social media with close to a million views as commentators including Norm Ornstein, Larry Sabato, Sarah Longwell, and Mehdi Hasan condemned the framing as both-sides journalism.
- CNN’s Brian Stelter reported that some CBS staffers were aghast at the segment, while no public correction or substantive response from CBS was reported in these articles.
- In contrast to the national broadcast, CBS News New York aired a longer package labeling the website’s claims misleading and false, underscoring inconsistencies in the network’s coverage under its recent relaunch.