PF1 Minisode: Dangers of Media Downplaying NYC ISIS Attack

Summary

Pod Force One: Minisode – Dangers of Media Downplaying NYC ISIS Attack

Host: Miranda Devine (New York Post)
Date: March 13, 2026

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Overview

In this minisode, Miranda Devine addresses the recent attempted ISIS bombing on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, focusing sharply on what she describes as dangerous media downplaying and misrepresentation of the event. Devine critiques mainstream media outlets and city political figures for framing the story to obscure the Islamist motivation, shift blame, and minimize the terror threat. The host underscores the peril in this type of coverage, arguing it erodes public trust and safety.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Media Framing and Obfuscation of Facts

• Media Downplaying the Attack

  • Miranda opens by denouncing the “sinister media soft soaping” of the ISIS bomb attack, blaming leading outlets for being “so far in the tank for the revolutionary left” that they mislead the public (00:55).
  • She lists several major media organizations—New York Times, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, USA Today—as culpable in downplaying or justifying the attack, especially if the victims are groups they allegedly “loathe.”

• Misleading Headlines and Narratives

  • Devine breaks down the original and updated headlines from The New York Times, accusing the paper of “deliberate craft, not journalistic prudence.” She paraphrases:

    “‘Smoking jars of metal infusers thrown at protest near mayor’s house. Six people were arrested after anti-Islamic protesters led by right-wing activist Jake Lang clashed with counter-protesters near Gracie Mansion.’” (01:51)

  • Argues both the initial and revised headlines obscure ISIS involvement, create false equivalencies between protesters and bomb-throwers, and cast right-wing protesters as the primary threat.

• Sympathetic Portrayal of Suspects

  • Criticizes CNN’s coverage for initially framing the bombers “sympathetically as two Pennsylvania teenagers enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather” (03:01).
  • Notes that even when reporting on the suspects’ eventual confessions and ISIS allegiance, many outlets still failed to properly address the terrorist motives.

Political Response and Moral Equivalency

• Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s Statements

  • Devine accuses the NYC Mayor of responding with “moral equivalence” and only belatedly condemning the terrorism after public pressure (04:00).

    “At best, Mamdani was drawing a moral equivalence between speech he decries as hate and actual violence that could have killed and maimed dozens…” (04:34)

• Media and Political Allies’ Subtext

  • Suggests that both political and media figures are sending the message that “violence is something to tolerate for the right cause.”

Omission of Crucial Details and Law Enforcement’s Role

• Omissions Despite Clear Motive & Evidence

  • Points to the suspects’ ISIS pledges and statements—one hoping for a “death count even bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing”—as evidence of terror motives that were not featured prominently in most media reports.
  • Praises NYPD Chief Aaron Edward for quick action:

    “Only thanks to the quick action of NYPD hero Chief Aaron Edward, who leapt over a barricade and chased them down.” (06:09)

• Media Continued to Mislead, Even After Arrests

  • NBC and USA Today cited for persistently misleading coverage, e.g.:

    NBC News: “‘Device ignited outside Zoran Mamdani’s mayoral residence yesterday during an anti Islam protest and counter protest was confirmed to be an improvised explosive.’” (07:03)
    USA Today: “Don’t let Gracie Mansion Bombs Scare Obscure Fire Rights Danger.” (07:35)

  • Argues that coverage continued to minimize or ignore the Islamist terrorist threat even after confessions.

Political and Ideological Sympathies

• Mayor’s Post-Attack Associating

  • Devine highlights the mayor’s social activities following the attack, noting he hosted Columbia University’s “pro Hamas protest agitator” Mahmoud Khalil the night after (07:50).

    “Rema and I were honored to welcome Mahmoud Noor and their son Dean to Gracie Mansion to break our fast together, he tweeted…” (08:13)

• Broader Narrative: Demonizing Victims, Lionizing Ideological Killers

  • Concludes that the prevailing narrative reframes terrorists as “sympathetic figures” while branding their intended victims as villains for opposing their ideology.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Media Bias:

  “The sinister media soft soaping of Saturday’s ISIS bomb attack on the Upper east side of Manhattan shows you exactly whose side these corrupted news organizations are on, and it's not yours.” – Miranda Devine (00:55)

• On The New York Times’ Headlines:

  “From master wordsmiths, this headline is deliberate craft, not journalistic prudence.” – Miranda Devine (01:51)

• On Moral Equivalence:

  “At best, Mamdani was drawing a moral equivalence between speech he decries as hate and actual violence that could have killed and maimed dozens of people on his doorstep.” – Miranda Devine (04:34)

• On Media Sympathy for Suspects:

  “CNN initially framed the men sympathetically as two Pennsylvania teenagers enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather.” – Miranda Devine (03:01)

• On Law Enforcement:

  “Only thanks to the quick action of NYPD hero Chief Aaron Edward, who leapt over a barricade and chased them down.” – Miranda Devine (06:09)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – 00:55: Opening remarks, general criticism of media coverage
• 01:51 – 03:20: Deep dive into media headlines and framing
• 03:21 – 04:34: Details about suspects, police response, and critical omissions
• 04:35 – 06:09: Mayor's public statements and delayed condemnation
• 06:10 – 07:50: Media and political narrative shifting, details on post-attack events
• 07:51 – 08:30: The Mayor’s hosting of controversial figures post-attack, and the show’s summation

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Conclusion

Miranda Devine’s minisode delivers a pointed critique of how prominent news organizations and NYC political leadership handled the attempted ISIS bombing. She argues their portrayal downplayed the Islamist terror aspect, blurred culpability, and implicitly demonized the attack’s actual targets. The episode calls for honesty and accountability in media and political messaging to maintain public awareness and safety in the face of terrorism.

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Transcript

[A]

Foreigna I'm back with a new episode of Pod Force One and just a little bit of a croaky voice. Still, this feature is a little more topical and relevant to my job as a columnist for the New York Post. Today's topic is about the dangers of the media downplaying the attempted ISIS terror attack in New York City on the weekend.

[B]

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[A]

homes only the sinister media soft soaping of Saturday's ISIS bomb attack on the Upper east side of Manhattan shows you exactly whose side these corrupted news organizations are on, and it's not yours. They are so far in the tank for the revolutionary left that they aren't even capable of hiding it with their usual cunning. We are at the point where the New York Times, cnn, NBC, cbs, ABC and USA Today will downplay obfusc or even justify an ISIS terrorist attack in New York City simply because it was aimed at people they loathe. Never mind that we saw video all over social media Saturday showing one of the ISIS radicalized suspects yelling Allah Akbar as he tossed a bomb packed with shrapnel and Mother of Satan explosive into an anti Islam protest near Gracie Mansion. Just because the bombs thrown into the crowd that afternoon fizzled out before exploding does not make the terrorist attack a any less ominous in the hometown of 911 heroes. The Times framed Saturday's attack in a way deliberately designed to mislead the reader into thinking that the offenders were anti Islamic protesters and that Mayor Zoram Mamdani was their intended victim. From Master Wordsmiths, this headline is deliberate craft, not journalistic prudence. Smoking jars of metal infusers thrown at protest near Meir's house Six people were arrested after anti Islamic protesters led by right wing activist Jake Lang clashed with counter protesters near Gracie Mansion. End quote. Even the Times updated headline. It upgraded the threat, but it still obscured the culprits. Counter Protester is meaningless and and in any case, he was only one of six people who were arrested during a clash. So the impression is that both sides are equally to blame. And since the right wing activist Jake Lange is named the Shawn had message from the headline is that he is the biggest threat, while the prominence of Mayor's house implies that Mamdani must be the target. Homemade bomb thrown at protest near NYC Mayer's house, police say was the updated headline. The counter protester accused of throwing the bomb was one of six people arrested after a clash with anti Islamic protesters led by the right wing activist Jake Lang. The coverage portrayed the attackers as having been provoked by Laing. Yet the planning and coordination for their attack, including gathering the components, building the bombs, storing a supply of bombs in a storage unit in Pennsylvania, took more than the few days during which Lange's protest was scheduled. This was a terror plot Looking for an excuse the intent of suspects Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi was clear. They both allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic terror group ISIS after they were arrested. Balat also allegedly told cops he had hoped for a death count even bigger than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. But CNN initially framed the men sympathetically as two Pennsylvania teenagers enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather. Their lives would drastically change as the pair would be arrested for throwing homemade bombs. On Tuesday night, a full three nights after the bombs were thrown, CNN anchor Abby Phillip read a script from her teleprompter that framed the near tragedy as an attempted terror attack against New York's Mayor Zoran Mamdani, and managed to blame Republicans. Portraying Mamdani as the victim was exactly what the media framing was designed to do. It was the opposite of the truth, but it served a useful purpose, feeding into the prejudices of Democrats and their media organs. The lie was halfway around the world before the truth had a chance to get its pants on, as the saying goes. CNN apologised, but their initial coverage was part of a passion we saw across the media and from the mayor himself, who responded to the attack with a statement that first condemned white supremacy, bigotry and racism before he got around to saying violence at a protest is never acceptable, end quote. In his second paragraph, it took him three more attempts before he was shamed by straight talking NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch into acknowledging the nature of the terrorism. At best, Mamdani was drawing a moral equivalence between speech he decries as hate and actual violence that could have killed and maimed dozens of people on his doorstep. The subtext from the mayor and allied media is that violence is something to tolerate for the right cause. The website HonestReporting.com has done a great job archiving a string of examples of the media misleading the public about the attack, obscuring the ideology of the culprits and implying that Mamdani was the intended victim even days after the suspects had been arrested and confessed twice as sympathies. There is no excuse for the omissions, since Ballat and Kayumi were arrested immediately after the bombs were tossed, only thanks to the quick action of NYPD hero Chief Aaron Edward, who leapt over a barricade and chased them down. Their Allah Akbar war cry was a giveaway too. Yet more than 24 hours after the attack at 2:09pm Sunday, NBC News tweeted breaking device ignited outside Zoran Mamdani's mayoral residence yesterday during an anti Islam protest and counter protest was confirmed to be an improvised explosive. End quote. On Tuesday, USA Today ran a rant against Islamophobia in New York City titled Don't let Gracie Mansion Bombs Scare Obscure Fire Rights Danger. Nothing about the actual physical danger to New Yorkers of Islamist terrorism, which we understand all too well. Mamdani left no mystery about where his sympathies lie the night after the attack when he and his wife hosted a dinner at Gracie Mansion in honor of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University pro Hamas protest agitator, an Algerian citizen who the Trump administration has been trying to deport. Rema and I were honored to welcome Mahmoud Noor and their son Dean to Gracie Mansion to break our fast together, he tweeted with a photo of the occasion. The message the mayor and his media fellow travelers want us to take away is that the villains are not the ISIS sympathizers who built bombs packed with shrapnel with the stated aim to kill and maim more people than died in the Boston Marathon bombing. In fact, the terrorists are sympathetic figures and their intended victims, being Islamophobes and purveyors of hate speech, are the real villains. It's the same malign narrative that has led to the lionization of cold blooded alleged assassins Luigi Mangione and Tyler Robinson because they murdered their ideological foes in a just cause. The message is my enemy's enemy is my hero. It's no accident and it puts us all in danger. Thanks for listening. I'll be back with another mini episode of Pod Force One on Monday. Hope you can tune in and enjoy the rest of your week.

[C]

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