Brandy Jensen calls The Free Press video a willful mischaracterization of El-Sayed
Brandy JensenCulture editor at Defector, in a commentary on the site
Jensen writes that the video described a speech El-Sayed gave almost entirely in English as delivered in Arabic, and sarcastically asks why the outlet scripted and released what she calls a willful mischaracterization of a politician it has spent a lot of time fear-mongering about.
Responding to
Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed gave his victory speech in Arabic.
“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”
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
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
Jensen quotes the video's caption and Sulkin's line that the first Muslim senator gave his victory speech in Detroit in Arabic, says El-Sayed stated his full name and used a couple of common Arabic words in a speech largely delivered in English, and quotes the outlet's correction.
After the quotation
In the same sentence she says Bari Weiss used the CBS News name to try to associate El-Sayed with 9/11. She ends by suggesting that if the outlet worries the discourse about the video lacks good faith, it was already unhealthy.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Jensen calls the video a willful mischaracterization and mocks the outlet's correction, so we labeled it condemns.
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More from this case
Read the full caseThe Free Press deletes its video, saying it contained a factual error and its tone fell short
The Free Press
“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.”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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- Brandy Jensen calls The Free Press video a willful mischaracterization of El-Sayed
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The Dispute Index. "Brandy Jensen calls The Free Press video a willful mischaracterization of El-Sayed". First published: 2026-11-14. Last updated: 2026-11-14. https://disputeindex.com/events/8969-jensen-writes-that-the-video-described-a-speech