A 60-minute prison segment aired by CBS was briefly viewed in Canada on Global TV
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Reversed part 60 Minutes segment criticizing the Trump administration’s deportation policies was temporarily available for viewing Monday on the Canadian network.
CBS News released its report on the massive prison in El Salvador hours before it aired Sunday night, but part of the episode appeared briefly on the free Global TV website and app Monday.
Canadian viewers — or those around the world with a VPN — were able to watch just over 13 minutes of the segment online. Others screen-recorded the episode and uploaded versions to YouTube, TikTok and Reddit, where it went viral.
The segment was available for at least two hours before it was removed. CBC News has contacted Global and Corus, its parent company, for comment.
CECOT houses hundreds of Venezuelans who have been deported from the United States without trial. Of 60 Minutes episode, reporter Sharin Alfonsi said the reporting team spoke with other men who endured “one of the harshest prisons in El Salvador.”
Part of the segment available online in Canada includes a reference to this year’s meeting between Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and US President Donald Trump, in which Alfonsi said Trump “expressed interest in El Salvador’s prison system” despite condemnation by human rights groups for violations.
“Great places, very strong institutions and they don’t play games,” Trump said during a meeting at the White House in April.
The segment caused an uproar off the air after CBS News pulled the episode from its show. A CBS News spokeswoman said the decision was made because the program “needs more coverage” and will air at a later date.
Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, founder of the Free Press website, wanted the Trump administration’s perspective included in the story. Weiss said in a statement that grabbing stories that aren’t ready, because they lack context or lack of criticism, happens every day in newsrooms.
In a letter obtained by the New York Times, the reporter who reported the story said the episode did not address “political reasons.”
“Our story was filtered five times and cleared by both CBS and Standard and Habits lawyers,” Alfonsi wrote in the paper, according to the Times.
“It’s absolutely true. In my opinion, taking it out now, after it has met a rigorous internal review, is not a planning decision, it’s a political one.”
CBS News released a 60 Minutes report on El Salvador’s CECOT prison hours before it aired Sunday, saying it would be aired at a later date.
Global is owned by Corus Entertainment, which has a licensing agreement for the brand 60 Minutes Canada.
CBS changed ownership in August when Skydance Media — owned by David Ellison, the son of longtime Trump supporter Larry Ellison — acquired Paramount, the broadcast network’s parent company.
David Ellison helped secure regulatory approval of the deal with the promise that the CBS network would show a “diverse viewpoint” for American viewers.
Weiss was tapped to lead CBS News in October following the Paramount Skydance merger.
