Free Press Corrects Claim on El-Sayed Arabic Speech
The Free Press issued a correction after falsely reporting that Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed gave his victory speech in Arabic.
Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Islam
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The Free Press posted on Wednesday that Abdul El-Sayed delivered his victory speech in Arabic, then issued a correction on Friday stating he said only a few phrases in Arabic and that most of the speech was in English. The outlet said it regrets the error.
Why it matters
The error involved a claim about a newly elected U.S. Senator's language use, and the two-day gap before correction drew criticism from journalists and commentators. It illustrates how quickly unverified claims about public figures can spread before being checked.
The Free Press published its correction on Friday, two days after the original Wednesday post. The correction states El-Sayed used only a few Arabic phrases, with the majority of his speech delivered in English.
The players
Abdul El-Sayed
Abdul El-Sayed is a progressive Democrat who won Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat by defeating Republican Mike Rogers.
The Free Press
The Free Press is an American news and opinion outlet that published the original post and later issued the correction.
Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald is a journalist and commentator who publicly accused the outlet of profiting from the post before correcting it.
Tommy Vietor
Tommy Vietor is a former National Security Council spokesman and podcast host who called the episode humiliating for the outlet.
The details
The original post, which promoted an opinion video, also claimed Rep. Ilhan Omar spoke Somali at her own victory party and paired both speeches with a post from Iran's supreme leader about America's collapse. Critics including Tommy Vietor, Glenn Greenwald, and Kyle Clark condemned the error, with Vietor calling it humiliating for the outlet.
Timeline
Tuesday, November 3, 2026: El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in the Michigan Senate race.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026: The Free Press posted the claim about the Arabic speech.
Friday, November 6, 2026: The Free Press issued its correction.
Culture Shift
Such errors are part of a longer pattern in which fast-moving social media commentary about public figures pressures outlets to publish before verification. Corrections of this kind have become a recurring feature of political coverage in the United States.
Readers who relied on the original post received inaccurate information about a newly elected senator's speech. The correction now stands as the published record for those who encountered the claim.
The takeaway
Checking claims about public figures before publishing protects audiences from spreading errors that are costly to correct.
Further reading
For related coverage of religion and culture, explore the Islam section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Raw Story.
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