Archivists have saved and uploaded copies of the 60 Minutes episode new CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss ordered be shelved as a torrent and multiple file sharing sites after an international distributor aired the episode.\u00a0The moves show how difficult it may be for CBS to stop the episode, which focused on the experience of Venezuelans deported to El Salvadorian mega prison CECOT, from spreading across the internet. Bari Weiss stopped the episode from being released Sunday even after the episode was reviewed and checked multiple times by the news outlet, according to an email CBS correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi sent to her colleagues.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou may recall earlier this year when the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelan men to El Salvador, a country most had no connection to,\u201d the show starts, according to a copy viewed by 404 Media.\ud83d\udca1Do you know anything else about this? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404 or send me an email at joseph@404media.co.Multiple social media users noticed on Monday that the 60 Minutes episode was available via the Global TV app. To view the episode, viewers need to connect to the app from a Canadian IP address.People then uploaded copies of the episode to a variety of file sharing sites and services, including iCloud, Mega, and as a torrent. Even political commentator Mueller She Wrote uploaded a copy.According to Alfonsi\u2019s email, which was widely leaked shortly after she sent it, she learned Weiss \u201cspiked\u201d the 60 Minutes episode, called INSIDE CECOT on Saturday.\u201cOur story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now\u2014after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one,\u201d the email read.Weiss was recently appointed to the editor-in-chief of CBS News after Paramount acquired Weiss\u2019s website The Free Press in October. Weiss garnered a reputation on the right as something of a fearless truth teller after she quit the New York Times as an opinion writer in 2020. In reality, stories published by The Free Press are often contrarian and fundamentally flawed, such as one that attempted to show that children who starved to death in Gaza already had underlying health conditions.Weiss\u2019s appointment as the head of CBS News brought fears she might have one of the most respected journalism institutions do much the same work as her website, or deliberately bow to the Trump administration.\u00a0In a memo Weiss sent to top 60 Minutes brass, obtained by Axios, she said the episode left out comment and perspective from administration officials. In her earlier email, Alfonsi said CBS News requested comment or sought interviews with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the White House, and the State Department. \u201cGoverment silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story,\u201d she wrote.The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed that the men sent to El Salvador were overwhelmingly violent criminals; Pro Publica reported that the administration knew at least 197 of the men had not been convicted of crimes in the United States, and six had been convicted of violent offenses.404 Media previously used hacked data from GlobalX, one of the airlines supporting ICE\u2019s deportations, which showed at the time dozens of unknown people on three deportation flights to El Salvador.\u00a0CBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"