CBS News accused of ‘news distortion’ after airing two different answers by Kamala Harris to same 60 Minutes question

A clip from that interview was played on Face the Nation that morning, and by the time the full interview aired, the question and answer were different. Both clips feature a similar exchange between 60 Minutes anchor Bill Whitaker and the candidate, but it almost appears as though Harris got a do-over.

CAR claims that the discrepancies "amount to deliberate news distortion—a violation of FCC rules governing broadcasters' public interest obligations." As such, they demand "CBS release the unedited transcript of the interview to set the record straight." The complaint, CAR states, "cites long-standing FCC precedent that broadcasters cannot engage in intentional falsification or suppression of news and seeks an order compelling CBS to release the full unedited transcript of the interview."

"This complaint concerns an act of significant and substantial news alteration, made in the middle of a heated presidential campaign," the complaint states. CAR states that in the 60 Minutes clip aired on Face the Nation, anchor Bill Whitaker asks Harris about her stance on the conflict in Israel and Gaza, and in response to her response, said "But it seems that Prime Minister is not listening."

Harris replied: "Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region."

When the full interview was aired the next day, Whitaker's question is met with a different response. Harris replied: "We are not gonna stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end."

This is the crux of the complaint, that CBS aired one answer and then later aired a different answer, making it impossible for the public to know what she stands for and also indicating that CBS stands for Harris, not for truth or honesty. "CBS crosses a line when its production reaches the point of so transforming an interviewee’s answer that it is a fundamentally different answer," CAR states in the complaint.

CBS has not provided the unedited transcript of the show, which leads to more questions about where the network's loyalties lie and how much input they may have had in directing Harris' answers, if they did so, or if they allowed Harris to restate her answers until she was happy with them. As relief, CAR asks for nothing more and nothing less than the release of the complete 60 Minutes transcript.

CAR also filed complaints against ABC News with the FCC, claiming that the network expressed obvious favoritism in the recent presidential debate between Harris and GOP contender former President Donald Trump. CAR claimed that "ABC’s moderators unfairly targeted former President Trump while providing Vice President Harris a free pass on factual inaccuracies."

CBS FCC Complaint VF by The Post Millennial on Scribd