CBS pulled report on Salvadoran prison CECOT because it was a ‘blatant hoax’?

Claim:

In December 2025, CBS Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss pulled a story about abuses at CECOT, a prison in El Salvador, because the report was a “blatant hoax.”

Rating:

In late December 2025, CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss postponed a “60 Minutes” report on abuses in a Salvadoran maximum-security prison just before it was due to air. That prison, the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT), received heightened attention after a Human Rights Watch report (archived) found the U.S. deported hundreds of Venezuelans to the facility and uncovered dozens of reports of abuse.

Following reports about Weiss’ decision, users on Facebook and Instagram (archived, archived) shared a video story — seemingly narrated by artificial intelligence — that claimed Weiss pulled the story because it was a “blatant hoax.” The video was captioned:

Trump’s Epic Media Takedown: CBS Yanks Fake 60 Minutes Venezuela Hoax – Democrat Lies Implode in Total Humiliation!

Massive win for Trump! CBS abruptly pulls a bogus 60 Minutes hit piece hours before airtime after editor Bari Weiss exposes it as a total fabrication smearing Trump’s deportations. The “mistreated Venezuelans” were actually illegal Mexicans still chilling in the US, working landscaping gigs, spinning scripted lies about abuse while never deported! This fake news farce proves leftist media’s desperation to prop up Biden’s border chaos amid Epstein scandals torching Dem elites. Trump’s America First juggernaut crushes the grift – no more coddling illegals over Americans! As midterms loom & Dem approvals tank, the swamp drains itself. God bless Trump for exposing the evil!

The video claimed: “CBS News was forced to abruptly pull a fabricated 60 Minutes segment just hours before airtime on Dec. 21, 2025, after new editor Bari Weiss demanded changes upon discovering the entire story was a blatant hoax designed to smear Trump’s deportation successes.”

However, there was no evidence Weiss pulled the report upon discovering it was a “blatant hoax.” Rather, it originated on a comedic social media page.

The claim first emerged on social media accounts belonging to Jonathan Gregory, whose bio was labeled “comedian.” The bio also, apparently satirically, stated he was the “Digital Content Creator for the Trump Administration.” Although Gregory’s posts tagged Newsmax, a real media company, he was not associated with it — a Google search revealed no bylines for Gregory on the company’s website.

We reached out to Gregory seeking confirmation that the claim was satirical and did not immediately receive a response.

Further, this claim was not consistent with CBS News’ own reporting on the situation. A video (archived), available on the CBS News website, reported that Weiss said in a statement that she looked “forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.” The video’s caption read:

“60 Minutes” postpones report on Venezuelans sent to El Salvador prison

CBS News postponed a “60 Minutes” report about the Trump administration’s decision to send Venezuelans and others it says entered the U.S. illegally to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi said in an internal email to colleagues that the story was “factually correct,” but CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss said in a statement that holding stories that “lack sufficient context” or are “missing critical voices happens every day in every newsroom,” and she looks “forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.”

Alfonsi reportedly claimed in an email circulated to colleagues (and reviewed by the Los Angeles Times) that because “every rigorous internal check” on the story was met, its postponement was a political decision.

We reached out to CBS seeking further details and will update this story if we receive a response. 

We’ve previously reported on Gregory’s claims before, including a rumor that director Rob and Michele Reiner’s son Nick is transgender and a claim that U.S. Sen. John Fetterman was targeted in a “deep state assassination plot.”

For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.

Sources

‘CBS News Correspondent Accuses Bari Weiss of “political” Move in Pulling ’60 Minutes’ Piece’. Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2025, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2025-12-21/cbs-correspondent-accuses-bari-weiss-of-political-move-in-pulling-60-minutes-piece.

Esposito, Joey. ‘Unraveling Baseless Rumor Rob and Michele Reiner’s Son Nick Is Transgender’. Snopes, 15 Dec. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/rob-reiner-son-nick-transgender/.

Liles, Jordan. ‘John Fetterman Wasn’t Targeted in “Deep State Assassination Plot”‘. Snopes, 15 Nov. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/fetterman-deep-state-assassination/.

Stelter, Brian. ‘Inside the Bari Weiss Decision That Led to a “60 Minutes” Crisis | CNN Business’. CNN, 22 Dec. 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/22/media/bari-weiss-60-minutes-cecot-cbs-alfonsi-ellison.

’60 Minutes’ Postpones Report on Venezuelans Sent to El Salvador Prison – CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/video/60-minutes-postpones-report-on-venezuelans-sent-to-el-salvador-prison/. Accessed 23 Dec. 2025.