Amid an otherwise unserious media blitz that featured spots on a sex-advice podcast, the Howard Stern Show, and The View, Vice-President Kamala Harris, to her credit, endured one serious and substantive interview by Bill Whitaker of CBS News’ 60 Minutes. Harris took critical questions about her policy proposals and her record as vice president on subjects ranging from immigration and the conflict in the Middle East, to the details of her gun ownership.  

Whitaker appeared to put on a journalistic clinic rarely seen in this era of presidential politics. Fully in command of the facts and determined to extract answers without appearing overwrought or aggressive, Whitaker exuded old-school journalistic integrity. It was a pleasure to witness.  

However, in the 24-hour period that unfolded, we learned that CBS wasn’t playing straight with the public. An X user called “Maze” posted side-by-side videos of Harris responding differently to Whitaker’s question on the conflict in Gaza: the original response CBS had used in its teaser clips that aired before the interview, and then an edited response that appeared in the actual episode of 60 Minutes.  

Harris’ response was winding and uncertain in the unedited version: 

“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,” Harris said.  

But in the broadcast that aired, Harris’ response was crisp and confident: 

“The work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles,” she said. 

As it happened, CBS, after airing the unedited version of this answer in the teaser, inserted a different response from a different part of the interview for the actual episode of 60 Minutes to the question of whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was receptive to the Biden White House. The switch had the effect of making Harris appear considerably more in command of the issue than she actually was.  

In response to the controversy, the Harris campaign said on Thursday they weren’t involved in CBS’ production decisions. 

Perhaps most incredible is the fact that CBS thought they could get away with this. The deceptive move demonstrates all the arrogance, disrespect for the American public, and willingness to engage in activism that has come to define the American press in recent years. Indeed, only 32% of Americans say they trust the mass media a “great deal” or a “fair amount” according to a recent Gallup survey, which is the lowest level in the history of the Gallup survey. And who can blame the 68% of Americans who don’t trust the media after something like this?  

When taken together with a myriad of other instances of news media hoodwinkery, it isn’t hard to see how individuals become politically disaffected and reflexively cynical. Democracy needs an honorable and effective press to flourish.  

For Hillary Clinton, John Kerry or Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Tim Walz, the problem of “disinformation” needs to be addressed by means of government censorship. Clinton recently said that if social media companies "don’t moderate and monitor the content, we lose total control." (it isn’t clear who she meant by “we”). For his part, Kerry bemoaned the fact that people are allowed to “self-select where they go for their news, for their information.” And Walz has incorrectly stated on numerous occasions, “there’s no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech, and especially around our democracy” — which is itself an ironic example of misinformation according to numerous Supreme Court rulings to the contrary.  

The reflex on the Left is always the same in this regard: to create a “healthier” information environment, their answer is to censor and control, and not to demand a more accurate and honest news media — lest their misdeeds be held to the light.  

But Catholics, and especially Catholic journalists, are not allowed to hold such disdain for the truth. We believe truth exists, and that it is our job to locate it and disseminate it around the globe using every available means of communication. That was Mother Angelica’s vision for EWTN, the parent company of the Register.  

The quickest path toward halting the spread of “disinformation” is a mass media ecosystem that prizes truth, not highly manipulated cutups of interviews with presidential nominees. CBS should issue a correction and vow to be more honest going forward.