'60 Minutes' story was pulled off the air. Now it's on internet

One of this season’s most-talked-about “60 Minutes” investigations may be one that never made it to air.

- MICHAEL GRYNBAUM

CBS News caused a controversy after it pulled a report from Sunday's episode of the long-running news show that featured the stories of Venezuelan men who were deported by the Trump administration to a brutal prison in El Salvador. But the full 13-minute segment, as originally edited by 60 Minutes staff members, surfaced online Monday.

The last-minute change had already set off a political firestorm. Bari Weiss, the network's editor-in-chief, said she postponed the segment because its reporting was flawed and incomplete. Her critics — including the 60 Minutes correspondent who reported the segment, Sharyn Alfonsi — saw it as an attempt by CBS to placate the administration. CBS is owned by David Ellison, a technology heir who is trying to acquire Warner Bros Discovery in a deal that needs federal regulatory approval.

Now the viewing public can draw its own conclusions. After a Canadian television network briefly posted the video on its streaming app, copies were quickly downloaded and widely shared on social media.

60 Minutes is seen by an average of 10 million viewers a week, and it is not clear if the bootlegged version of Ms Alfonsi’s report will get that many views.