NewsDespicable: CNN's Flowery Profile of Would-be NYC Terrorists Is a Blatant Effort...

Despicable: CNN’s Flowery Profile of Would-be NYC Terrorists Is a Blatant Effort to Romanticize the Jihad

We’ve known for a long time that the folks over at CNN will trip over themselves to cover up, obfuscate, and make excuses for anything anti-American, but what they published both on social media and on their own site on Tuesday about the two men who attempted to carry out a Boston Marathon-style terror attack in New York City is beyond despicable.

To recap, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, Muslim teenagers whose parents are immigrants from Turkey and Afghanistan, respectively, allegedly created at least two sophisticated improvised explosive devices, then headed from their homes in Pennsylvania to their target, the “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” protest in Manhattan. The two explosives were deployed; video shows Balat throwing one into the crowd while shouting “Allahu Akbar,” and dropping the other near several NYPD officers. 

A third device was found in a vehicle near the rally site on Sunday and is currently being analyzed.

DIVE DEEPER: Following Charges, Officials Detail Terrorist Explosive and Rapid Timeline in NYC Bomb Plot

But according to CNN, the two were just normal American teenagers who decided to take a Saturday jaunt into the city during a break in a long, cold winter, then happened upon an anti-Muslim protest where homemade bombs materialized and were thrown into the crowd – and those poor boys were arrested for it!

Oh, hey – CNN deleted that ridiculous tweet. Good thing I screenshot it… pic.twitter.com/HTxOhClr4K

— Susie Moore ⚾️🌻🐶 (@SmoosieQ) March 10, 2026

Here’s what they wrote:

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.

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. Here’s what we know so far.

Oh, they were just acting against hate, right?

The flowery introduction to the story is just as bad.

Two Pennsylvania men on Saturday followed the route taken by thousands as they crossed the George Washington Bridge into New York City. 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.

They were just going with the flow, and their trajectory took a dark turn – as if their own actions had zero to do with that trajectory?

Reaction to the X post was swift, and CNN hurriedly deleted it then modified the introduction to the story itself. In their statement explaining the deletion, CNN continued to demonstrate that they don’t understand.

A post regarding the two individuals arrested for throwing homemade bombs outside of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home failed to reflect the gravity of the incident thereby breaching the editorial standards we require for all our reporting.

 » …

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Subscribe Today

GET EXCLUSIVE FULL ACCESS TO PREMIUM CONTENT

SUPPORT NONPROFIT JOURNALISM

EXPERT ANALYSIS OF AND EMERGING TRENDS IN CHILD WELFARE AND JUVENILE JUSTICE

TOPICAL VIDEO WEBINARS

Get unlimited access to our EXCLUSIVE Content and our archive of subscriber stories.

Exclusive content

Latest article

More article