The Free Press deletes its video, saying it contained a factual error and its tone fell short
The Free PressNews and opinion outlet, in a post on its X account
The Free Press says it deleted an opinion video about the use of foreign languages in election night speeches because the post contained a factual error and its tone fell short of what it believes advances healthy public discourse. It says it regrets the error.
Responding to
Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed gave his victory speech in Arabic.
“We deleted an opinion video about the use of foreign languages in election night speeches. The post contained a factual error and its tone fell short of what we believe advances healthy public discourse.”
Original post
Analysis
Where this statement fits
The Free Press says Abdul El-Sayed gave his victory speech in Arabic, then corrects the post and deletes the video; Glenn Greenwald and Defector's Brandy Jensen criticize it
On November 4, 2026, after Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan's U.S. Senate race, The Free Press posted an opinion video on X by reporter Maya Sulkin with a caption saying the senator-elect "gave his victory speech in Arabic last night." In the video, Sulkin said the first Muslim senator in American history had given his victory speech in Detroit in Arabic, and the caption also noted that Rep. Ilhan Omar addressed her victory party in Somali. El-Sayed's speech included Arabic words such as "habibi," which he addressed to Vice President JD Vance, and "inshallah," according to the Associated Press. The Free Press posted a correction two days later saying El-Sayed said a few phrases in Arabic but gave the majority of his speech in English. On November 8 it said it had deleted the video because the post contained a factual error and its tone fell short of its standards. Glenn Greenwald criticized the outlet for leaving the original post up and adding the correction two days later. Defector's Brandy Jensen called the video a willful mischaracterization.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
The Free Press says it deleted the video, that the post contained a factual error and that its tone fell short of its standards, and that it will change how it handles social media posts.
Analysis
About this source
Jensen's commentary on the video and its deletion. It quotes the original post's caption, Maya Sulkin's line in the video, the November 6 correction and the November 8 deletion note.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Two days earlier, The Free Press had posted a correction saying its post and opinion video wrongly stated that El-Sayed gave his acceptance speech in Arabic, and that he said a few phrases in Arabic but gave the majority of his speech in English.
After the quotation
The outlet added that the rigorous editorial process behind its website and newsletters must apply to everything it posts on social media, and that it would update how it works to achieve that.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The Free Press disowns its own video, saying it was factually wrong and that its tone fell short, and removes it, so we labeled it condemns.
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More from this case
Read the full caseBrandy Jensen calls The Free Press video a willful mischaracterization of El-Sayed
“It's so hard to figure out why they may have scripted, produced, edited, and released such a willful mischaracterization of a politician about whom they've spent a lot of time fear-mongering”Read statement
Glenn Greenwald says The Free Press left its false claim up and tacked on a correction two days later
“Leave the mega-viral tweet with the false sensationalistic claim, continue to profit off of that false claim as it continues to viralize, then tack on a "correction" TWO FULL DAYS LATER that nobody sees, just so you can say you did. Ladies and gentlemen: The Free Press.”Read statement
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- The Free Press deletes its video, saying it contained a factual error and its tone fell short
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The Dispute Index. "The Free Press deletes its video, saying it contained a factual error and its tone fell short". First published: 2026-11-14. Last updated: 2026-11-14. https://disputeindex.com/events/8967-the-free-press-says-it-deleted-an-opinion