This article, authored by Nicole Silverio is republished under the Creative Commons “CC BY-NC-ND” license with permission from The Daily Caller News Foundation.
CNN deleted a post Tuesday that portrayed two individuals with suspected ties to ISIS as two teenagers trying to enjoy the nice weather in New York City.
CNN wrote on X that 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi’s lives changed “drastically” on Saturday when they threw improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at demonstrators outside Gracie Mansion, the home of Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Monday that the incident was being investigated as “an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism.”
“Two Pennsylvania teenagers crossed into New York City Saturday morning for what could’ve been a normal day enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather,” CNN wrote in the now-deleted post. “But in less than an hour, their lives would drastically change as the pair would be arrested for throwing homemade bombs during an anti-Muslim protest outside of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home.”
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The outlet then deleted the post, stating that it “failed to reflect the gravity of the incident” and violated editorial standards.
“A post regarding the two individuals arrested for throwing homemade bombs outside of New York City Mayor Zohran Mandarin’s home failed to reflect the gravity of the incident thereby breaching the editorial standards we require for all our reporting. It has therefore been deleted,” CNN wrote.
Nearly 100 counter-protesters gathered to oppose a small anti-Islam demonstration organized by right-wing activist Jake Lang on Saturday. During the clashes, Balat allegedly threw a homemade bomb at Lang’s group, which authorities said could have caused “serious injury or death.”
Tisch said during a Monday press conference that the homemade bomb contained triacetone triperoxide (TATP), which has been linked to ISIS in past terror attacks. When the device was thrown, footage of the incident showed a man appearing to yell “Allahu Akbar.”
Balat and Kayumi have been federally charged with five counts, including terrorism-related offenses.
CNN changed the lede of its article and stated in its editor’s note that the previous summary did “not reflect the gravity of the incident.” The original version described the suspects as “two Pennsylvania men” whose day took a “dark turn” when they threw bombs at protesters, according to an archived version of the article.
“Two Pennsylvania men on Saturday followed the route taken by thousands as they crossed the George Washington Bridge into New York City,” the original lede read. “But less than an hour later, their trajectory took a dark turn as they were arrested for throwing homemade bombs during an anti-Muslim protest outside of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home.”
Legacy media outlets, including CNN, The New York Times and NPR, tied the bombing to an “anti-Islam” protest, even though the attack was carried out by Islamic counter-protesters. Mamdani also blamed white supremacy and Islamophobia for the incident in a Monday statement.
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