Investigative journalist John Solomon has some questions for CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss.
Solomon was curious about the apparent disparity between the outlet’s coverage of China acquiring voter data in two countries, the United States and the United Kingdom. He accused the outlet of “dismissing” one case while taking the other “seriously,” and wants Weiss to explain why the stories were treated differently.
Look:
Hey @bariweiss, when Biden admin announced China obtained 40 million of Great Britain’s publicly available voter files @CBSNews covered it seriously. But when DJT announced China got 240 million of Americans voter files your team dismissed like it was no big deal. Why?
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) July 18, 2026
“Hey [Bari Weiss,] when Biden admin announced China obtained 40 million of Great Britain’s publicly available voter files [CBS News] covered it seriously. But when DJT announced China got 240 million of Americans voter files your team dismissed like it was no big deal. Why?” he asked.Â
Indeed, just the opening paragraphs of each story set a tone for how the article handled the information.
For the UK story, CBS led with the charges and claims of “espionage”:
The Justice Department announced charges against seven Chinese nationals with ties to a state-sponsored group in a hacking scheme, accusing the individuals of targeting U.S. businesses and political officials, candidates and campaign staff to promote the Chinese government’s “economic espionage and foreign intelligence objectives.”
Meanwhile, the United States story appears to downplay the “alarming claim” made by the president as something totally normal:
President Trump made the alarming claim Thursday that China conducted what may be “the largest compromise of election data in history” with its “illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files.” But voter data is accessible across all 50 states.
“This case serves as a reminder of the ends to which the Chinese government is willing to go to target and intimidate its critics, including launching malicious cyber operations aimed at threatening the national security of the United States and our allies,” then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said in 2024, at the time of the Great Britain hack, according to the CBS report.
The outlet made it a point to try to fact-check Trump’s claim that China had obtained “names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences and other sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities,” saying this allegation is “not entirely true.”
“Yes, they may have that data — however, that information alone is not enough to alter or create voter registrations,” the news organization contended. “Nearly all states exclude sensitive identifiers, and most prohibit commercial use or resale.”
Solomon pointed out that the UK “makes voter registration data publicly available just like America,” so why was this factor highlighted in just one story?
Here’s the proof that Great Britain makes voter registration data publicly available just like America. https://t.co/J5I2mlw8BL
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) July 18, 2026
And here’s proof that the American episode involved a hacking unit just like Great Britain. https://t.co/ba7urb84IA https://t.co/qt7zq5Xwa5
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) July 18, 2026
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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