'Deeply flimsy': CBS News' new Trump-backed boss bashed over 'shoddy' debunk attempt

CBS News' new conservative editor-in-chief faced significant criticism on Wednesday over a report she published that claimed to refute news reports about Israel starving civilians in Gaza.

In August, The Free Press published a story titled, "They Became Symbols For Gazan Starvation. But All 12 Suffer from Other Health Problems," which purported to refute reporting done by The New York Times and other outlets that found the Israeli military was starving Gazans. Bari Weiss joined CBS News after Paramount purchased The Free Press.

On a new episode of the 'Breaking Points" podcast, co-hosts Ryan Grim and Emily Jashinsky said they had been looking into The Free Press' reporting, and what they found raised more questions than it answered.

"When we started looking closer at their reporting, we're like, wait a minute, this is deeply flimsy," Grim said. "However, according to Olivia Reingold, this was truly outstanding reporting," referring to one of the reporters who worked on the story.

One issue Grim and Jashinsy noted is that the report's headline mentions 12 cases, but the body text only mentions 10.

It also appeared that The Free Press' journalists didn't talk to the victim's families, according to Grim and Jashinsky.

"Their original piece was perhaps to me one of the most infuriating I've ever seen because of how shoddy it was," Grim said.

"The idea that these children's pre-existing conditions were the thing that was driving their health complications, which is what The Free Press pushes, that turns out not to be the case once you talk to their families," Grim added.

"That's what drove me crazy about the story originally...and now that you all are following up on it," Jashinsky said. "There's a constant drumbeat of lecturing from many of these same people about journalistic ethics."