Will erasing 100 past videos protect a candidate's image, or trigger the ultimate digital backfire before election day?

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Erasing around 100 old videos is more likely to trigger backlash than fully protect a candidate’s image, especially this close to Election Day. In modern campaigns, deletion rarely makes old material disappear. It often creates a second story: not just what was said before, but why it was hidden now. That is what appears to be happening here. Reporting from CNN KFile, CBS, Fox News Digital and The Detroit News has shifted attention from Abdul El-Sayed’s past remarks to the act of scrubbing posts and videos itself. That can deepen voter doubts about transparency, particularly among undecided and older voters who already appear more cautious in polling. The political risk is greater because the removed material touched several sensitive issues at once, including policing, gun rights, border security, post-9/11 wars and cultural flashpoints. El-Sayed’s campaign says the cleanup was meant to prevent old content from being taken out of context, and it has stressed that he has always condemned the 9/11 attacks. That explanation may help with core supporters, but campaigns usually gain more by addressing past statements directly than by making them harder to find. Whether the damage becomes decisive depends on what comes next. If El-Sayed gives clear, consistent explanations and keeps the race focused on cost-of-living and health care, the issue may fade. If more deleted content resurfaces in dribs and drabs, the cleanup itself could become a credibility problem that benefits Mike …

Detroit News Endorses Mike Rogers, Faults Abdul El-Sayed for Deleting 100 Videos

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Detroit News Endorses Mike Rogers, Faults Abdul El-Sayed for Deleting 100 Videos

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